Journal
ZOOLOGY
Volume 126, Issue -, Pages 29-35Publisher
ELSEVIER GMBH
DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2017.12.006
Keywords
Hydrobates monteiroi; Global location sensing devices; Sexual segregation; Stable isotope analysis
Categories
Funding
- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [SFRH/BPD/85024/2012, SFRH/BPD/88914/2012, SFRH/BPD/20291/2004, SFRH/BPD/47047/2008]
- FCT [MARE-UID/MAR/04292/2013]
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [SFRH/BPD/20291/2004, SFRH/BPD/47047/2008, SFRH/BPD/88914/2012] Funding Source: FCT
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At-sea distribution and trophic ecology of small seabird species (i.e. < 100 g) is far less known when compared to their larger relatives. We studied the habitat use (spatial ecology) and isotopic niches (trophic ecology) of the endangered Monteiro's storm-petrel Hydrobates monteiroi during the incubation and chick-rearing periods of 2013. There was a sexual foraging segregation of Monteiro's storm-petrels during the breeding period (tracking data) but also during the non-breeding stage (stable isotope analysis). Females took advantage of their longer wings to forage over the shallower Mid-Atlantic ridge (MAR) north of Azores, under colder and windier regimes when compared to males, who mostly exploited northern deep waters comparatively closer to the breeding colony. Between-sex differences in the spatial distribution were more obvious during the incubation period, with the overlap in their distribution increasing during the chick-rearing phase. There was also an isotopic segregation between sexes both during the previous breeding and the non-breeding stages, with females exhibiting a narrower, lower level isotopic niche when compared to males. Though the distribution patterns reported here should be useful for the at-sea conservation of this endangered species, future research should focus on (1) performing year-round tracking to map the species' distribution during the non-breeding period and (2) gathering multi-year tracking information to understand the effect of inter-annual environmental stochasticity on the foraging choices and trophic habits of the species.
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