Shags in Antarctica: their feeding behaviour and ecological role in the marine food web
Feeding behaviour, ecological role in the marine food web and population trends of the Antarctic shag Phalacrocorax bransfieldensis and the South Georgia shag P. georgianus in Antarctica are analysed. The diving depths and duration recorded for these shags are the deepest and longest among all flyin...
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2006
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102006000010 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102006000010 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0954102006000010 2024-04-28T08:02:53+00:00 Shags in Antarctica: their feeding behaviour and ecological role in the marine food web Casaux, Ricardo Barrera-Oro, Esteban 2006 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102006000010 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102006000010 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Antarctic Science volume 18, issue 1, page 3-14 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 Geology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Oceanography journal-article 2006 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102006000010 2024-04-02T06:55:15Z Feeding behaviour, ecological role in the marine food web and population trends of the Antarctic shag Phalacrocorax bransfieldensis and the South Georgia shag P. georgianus in Antarctica are analysed. The diving depths and duration recorded for these shags are the deepest and longest among all flying birds in Antarctica and match deep dives performed by small Antarctic penguins. Individual shags of both sexes partition foraging depths and food resources, which might diminish intra-specific competition. Like other sub-Antarctic shags, P. bransfieldensis and P. georgianus are bottom feeders that prey predominantly on demersal fish. In the southern Scotia Arc and west Antarctic Peninsula, nototheniids, mainly Notothenia coriiceps , constitute their main prey. Shag partners alternate the time at sea and, as the energy requirements at the nest increase, they increase the number but reduce the duration of the feeding trips. A steady declining trend in the number of breeding pairs of both species has been observed in the last decade at several Antarctic localities; this phenomenon at the South Shetland Islands might be at least partially explained by the effect of the commercial fishery on their prey. In inshore shallow waters shags occupy the trophic niche of main predators of demersal fish and play an important ecological role as regulators of populations of particular fish prey that have marked site fidelity. The potential use of shags as biomonitors in Antarctica is discussed. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic Science Antarctica South Shetland Islands Cambridge University Press Antarctic Science 18 1 3 14 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Geology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Geology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Oceanography Casaux, Ricardo Barrera-Oro, Esteban Shags in Antarctica: their feeding behaviour and ecological role in the marine food web |
topic_facet |
Geology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Oceanography |
description |
Feeding behaviour, ecological role in the marine food web and population trends of the Antarctic shag Phalacrocorax bransfieldensis and the South Georgia shag P. georgianus in Antarctica are analysed. The diving depths and duration recorded for these shags are the deepest and longest among all flying birds in Antarctica and match deep dives performed by small Antarctic penguins. Individual shags of both sexes partition foraging depths and food resources, which might diminish intra-specific competition. Like other sub-Antarctic shags, P. bransfieldensis and P. georgianus are bottom feeders that prey predominantly on demersal fish. In the southern Scotia Arc and west Antarctic Peninsula, nototheniids, mainly Notothenia coriiceps , constitute their main prey. Shag partners alternate the time at sea and, as the energy requirements at the nest increase, they increase the number but reduce the duration of the feeding trips. A steady declining trend in the number of breeding pairs of both species has been observed in the last decade at several Antarctic localities; this phenomenon at the South Shetland Islands might be at least partially explained by the effect of the commercial fishery on their prey. In inshore shallow waters shags occupy the trophic niche of main predators of demersal fish and play an important ecological role as regulators of populations of particular fish prey that have marked site fidelity. The potential use of shags as biomonitors in Antarctica is discussed. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Casaux, Ricardo Barrera-Oro, Esteban |
author_facet |
Casaux, Ricardo Barrera-Oro, Esteban |
author_sort |
Casaux, Ricardo |
title |
Shags in Antarctica: their feeding behaviour and ecological role in the marine food web |
title_short |
Shags in Antarctica: their feeding behaviour and ecological role in the marine food web |
title_full |
Shags in Antarctica: their feeding behaviour and ecological role in the marine food web |
title_fullStr |
Shags in Antarctica: their feeding behaviour and ecological role in the marine food web |
title_full_unstemmed |
Shags in Antarctica: their feeding behaviour and ecological role in the marine food web |
title_sort |
shags in antarctica: their feeding behaviour and ecological role in the marine food web |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102006000010 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102006000010 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic Science Antarctica South Shetland Islands |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic Science Antarctica South Shetland Islands |
op_source |
Antarctic Science volume 18, issue 1, page 3-14 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102006000010 |
container_title |
Antarctic Science |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
3 |
op_container_end_page |
14 |
_version_ |
1797574126420885504 |