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Habitat preference, accessibility and competiton limit the global distribution of breeding black-browed albatrosses

2010; Wiley; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1890/09-0763

1557-7015

Ewan Wakefield, Richard Odame Phillips, Philip N. Trathan, Javier Arata, Rosemary Gales, Nic Huin, Graham Robertson, Suasan Waugh, Henri Weimerskirch, Jason Matthiopoulos,

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

Ecological MonographsVolume 81, Issue 1 p. 141-167 Article Habitat preference, accessibility, and competition limit the global distribution of breeding Black-browed Albatrosses Ewan D. Wakefield, Ewan D. Wakefield British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET United Kingdom Present address: Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT United Kingdom. E-mail: E.D.Wakefield@leeds.ac.ukSearch for more papers by this authorRichard A. Phillips, Richard A. Phillips British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET United KingdomSearch for more papers by this authorPhilip N. Trathan, Philip N. Trathan British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET United KingdomSearch for more papers by this authorJavier Arata, Javier Arata Instituto Antártico Chileno, Plaza Mušoz Gamero 1055 ChileSearch for more papers by this authorRosemary Gales, Rosemary Gales Biodiversity Conservation Branch, Department of Primary Industries and Water, P.O. Box 40 Hobart, Tasmania 7001 AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorNic Huin, Nic Huin Falklands Conservation, P.O. Box 26, Stanley FIQQ 1ZZ Falkland IslandsSearch for more papers by this authorGraham Robertson, Graham Robertson Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania 7050 AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorSusan M. Waugh, Susan M. Waugh Sextant Technology Ltd, 116 Wilton Road, Wellington 6012 New ZealandSearch for more papers by this authorHenri Weimerskirch, Henri Weimerskirch Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, FranceSearch for more papers by this authorJason Matthiopoulos, Jason Matthiopoulos Sea Mammal Research Unit and Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modeling, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB United KingdomSearch for more papers by this author Ewan D. Wakefield, Ewan D. Wakefield British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET United Kingdom Present address: Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT United Kingdom. E-mail: E.D.Wakefield@leeds.ac.ukSearch for more papers by this authorRichard A. Phillips, Richard A. Phillips British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET United KingdomSearch for more papers by this authorPhilip N. Trathan, Philip N. Trathan British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET United KingdomSearch for more papers by this authorJavier Arata, Javier Arata Instituto Antártico Chileno, Plaza Mušoz Gamero 1055 ChileSearch for more papers by this authorRosemary Gales, Rosemary Gales Biodiversity Conservation Branch, Department of Primary Industries and Water, P.O. Box 40 Hobart, Tasmania 7001 AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorNic Huin, Nic Huin Falklands Conservation, P.O. Box 26, Stanley FIQQ 1ZZ Falkland IslandsSearch for more papers by this authorGraham Robertson, Graham Robertson Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania 7050 AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorSusan M. Waugh, Susan M. Waugh Sextant Technology Ltd, 116 Wilton Road, Wellington 6012 New ZealandSearch for more papers by this authorHenri Weimerskirch, Henri Weimerskirch Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, FranceSearch for more papers by this authorJason Matthiopoulos, Jason Matthiopoulos Sea Mammal Research Unit and Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modeling, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB United KingdomSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 February 2011 https://doi.org/10.1890/09-0763.1Citations: 107 Corresponding Editor: B. J. Danielson. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Telemetry methods and remote sensing now make it possible to record the spatial usage of wide-ranging marine animals and the biophysical characteristics of their pelagic habitats. Furthermore, recent statistical advances mean that such data can be used to test ecological hypotheses and estimate species' distributions. Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophrys are highly mobile marine predators with a circumpolar breeding and foraging distribution in the Southern Hemisphere. Although they remain relatively abundant, increased fisheries bycatch has led to their listing as endangered by conservation bodies. We satellite-tracked 163 breeding Black-browed Albatrosses and eight closely related Campbell Albatrosses T. impavida from nine colonies. We then quantified habitat usage, and modeled population-level spatial distribution at spatiotemporal scales >50 km and 1 month, as a function of habitat accessibility, habitat preference, and intraspecific competition, using mixed-effects generalized additive models (GAMM). During incubation, birds foraged over a wider area than in the post-brood chick-rearing period, when they are more time constrained. Throughout breeding, the order of habitat preference of Black-browed Albatrosses was for neritic (0–500 m), shelf-break and upper shelf-slope (500–1000 m), and then oceanic (>1000 m) waters. Black-browed Albatrosses also preferred areas with steeper (>3°) bathymetric relief and, in addition, during incubation, warmer sea surface temperatures (peak preference ∼16°C). Although this suggests specialization in neritic habitats, incubation-stage Black-browed Albatrosses from South Georgia also foraged extensively in oceanic waters, preferring areas with high eddy kinetic energy (>250 cm2/s2), especially the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence, a region of intense mesoscale turbulence. During chick-rearing, this species had a more southerly distribution, and following the seasonal retreat of sea ice, birds from some populations utilized neritic polar waters. Campbell Albatrosses showed similar bathymetric preferences but also preferred positive sea level anomalies. Black-browed Albatross foraging areas were partially spatially segregated with respect to colony and region, with birds preferring locations distant from neighboring colonies, presumably in order to reduce competition between parapatric conspecifics. At the global scale, the greatest concentrations of breeding Black-browed Albatrosses are in southern South American neritic, shelf-break, and shelf-slope waters. These regions also hold large fisheries and should therefore be a priority for introduction of bycatch mitigation measures. Citing Literature Supporting Information Filename Description https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3309606 Research data pertaining to this article is located at figshare.com: Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. Volume81, Issue1February 2011Pages 141-167 RelatedInformation