Marine distribution and habitat use by Snow Petrels Pagodroma nivea in East Antarctica throughout the non-breeding period
The relationships between flying Antarctic seabirds and their at-sea environments remain poorly understood, particularly outside of the breeding season. Improving our knowledge of how these marine predators use their habitat is a critical step towards conservation of these species. We tracked 27 adu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1278229/full |
| _version_ | 1797652696275091456 |
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| author | Benjamin Viola Benjamin Viola Barbara Wienecke Cara-Paige Green Stuart Corney Stuart Corney Ben Raymond Ben Raymond Colin Southwell Michael D. Sumner Michael D. Sumner Patti Virtue Patti Virtue Simon Wotherspoon Simon Wotherspoon Louise Emmerson |
| author_facet | Benjamin Viola Benjamin Viola Barbara Wienecke Cara-Paige Green Stuart Corney Stuart Corney Ben Raymond Ben Raymond Colin Southwell Michael D. Sumner Michael D. Sumner Patti Virtue Patti Virtue Simon Wotherspoon Simon Wotherspoon Louise Emmerson |
| author_sort | Benjamin Viola |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The relationships between flying Antarctic seabirds and their at-sea environments remain poorly understood, particularly outside of the breeding season. Improving our knowledge of how these marine predators use their habitat is a critical step towards conservation of these species. We tracked 27 adult Snow Petrels from two large breeding colonies in East Antarctica during the Austral winter (non-breeding period) – when they are primarily at sea away from their nesting sites. During this time, Snow Petrel habitat use was most associated with bathymetry (> 5000 m), low sea-surface height, relatively close distance to the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, relatively close distance to the ice-edge, relatively high sea-ice concentration, and low sea-surface temperature. Individuals displayed various movement patterns: 20 birds occupied overlapping winter areas that ranged broadly (up to 2000 km) from their breeding sites. The remaining birds ventured far beyond their breeding sites – reaching a maximal distance from the colony of 5,268 km. One individual circumnavigated Antarctica. Daily activity patterns were related to day length, with peak activity occurring near dawn and dusk. Nocturnal activity increased from March until August/September. Key results reveal and depict Snow Petrel habitat maps for the non-breeding period in the East Antarctic region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:33:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f8c1d9d46c8d4053b13e6eafdf5315a5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:33:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-f8c1d9d46c8d4053b13e6eafdf5315a52023-10-23T21:00:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452023-10-011010.3389/fmars.2023.12782291278229Marine distribution and habitat use by Snow Petrels Pagodroma nivea in East Antarctica throughout the non-breeding periodBenjamin Viola0Benjamin Viola1Barbara Wienecke2Cara-Paige Green3Stuart Corney4Stuart Corney5Ben Raymond6Ben Raymond7Colin Southwell8Michael D. Sumner9Michael D. Sumner10Patti Virtue11Patti Virtue12Simon Wotherspoon13Simon Wotherspoon14Louise Emmerson15Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, AustraliaDepartment of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, TAS, AustraliaDepartment of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, TAS, AustraliaInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, AustraliaInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, AustraliaAustralia Antarctic Program Partnership, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, AustraliaInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, AustraliaDepartment of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, TAS, AustraliaDepartment of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, TAS, AustraliaInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, AustraliaDepartment of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, TAS, AustraliaInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, AustraliaDepartment of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, TAS, AustraliaInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, AustraliaDepartment of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, TAS, AustraliaDepartment of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, TAS, AustraliaThe relationships between flying Antarctic seabirds and their at-sea environments remain poorly understood, particularly outside of the breeding season. Improving our knowledge of how these marine predators use their habitat is a critical step towards conservation of these species. We tracked 27 adult Snow Petrels from two large breeding colonies in East Antarctica during the Austral winter (non-breeding period) – when they are primarily at sea away from their nesting sites. During this time, Snow Petrel habitat use was most associated with bathymetry (> 5000 m), low sea-surface height, relatively close distance to the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, relatively close distance to the ice-edge, relatively high sea-ice concentration, and low sea-surface temperature. Individuals displayed various movement patterns: 20 birds occupied overlapping winter areas that ranged broadly (up to 2000 km) from their breeding sites. The remaining birds ventured far beyond their breeding sites – reaching a maximal distance from the colony of 5,268 km. One individual circumnavigated Antarctica. Daily activity patterns were related to day length, with peak activity occurring near dawn and dusk. Nocturnal activity increased from March until August/September. Key results reveal and depict Snow Petrel habitat maps for the non-breeding period in the East Antarctic region.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1278229/fullfulmarine petrelsGLS trackingGLS tagsgeolocationseabirdspolar ecosystems |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin Viola Benjamin Viola Barbara Wienecke Cara-Paige Green Stuart Corney Stuart Corney Ben Raymond Ben Raymond Colin Southwell Michael D. Sumner Michael D. Sumner Patti Virtue Patti Virtue Simon Wotherspoon Simon Wotherspoon Louise Emmerson Marine distribution and habitat use by Snow Petrels Pagodroma nivea in East Antarctica throughout the non-breeding period Frontiers in Marine Science fulmarine petrels GLS tracking GLS tags geolocation seabirds polar ecosystems |
| title | Marine distribution and habitat use by Snow Petrels Pagodroma nivea in East Antarctica throughout the non-breeding period |
| title_full | Marine distribution and habitat use by Snow Petrels Pagodroma nivea in East Antarctica throughout the non-breeding period |
| title_fullStr | Marine distribution and habitat use by Snow Petrels Pagodroma nivea in East Antarctica throughout the non-breeding period |
| title_full_unstemmed | Marine distribution and habitat use by Snow Petrels Pagodroma nivea in East Antarctica throughout the non-breeding period |
| title_short | Marine distribution and habitat use by Snow Petrels Pagodroma nivea in East Antarctica throughout the non-breeding period |
| title_sort | marine distribution and habitat use by snow petrels pagodroma nivea in east antarctica throughout the non breeding period |
| topic | fulmarine petrels GLS tracking GLS tags geolocation seabirds polar ecosystems |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1278229/full |
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