Unexpected weight gain in resident Antarctic Terns Sterna vittata during the austral winter
Antarctic Terns Sterna oittata (Fig. 1) may display two very different migratory behaviours. According to Cooper (1976), the terns breeding on Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic fly thousands of kilometers to the coasts of Africa where they moult. Antarctic Terns that inhabit the more southern a...
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crwiley:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1988.tb01001.x 2024-06-02T07:58:05+00:00 Unexpected weight gain in resident Antarctic Terns Sterna vittata during the austral winter PARMELEE, D. F. 1988 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919x.1988.tb01001.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1474-919X.1988.tb01001.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1988.tb01001.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Ibis volume 130, issue 4, page 438-443 ISSN 0019-1019 1474-919X journal-article 1988 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919x.1988.tb01001.x 2024-05-03T11:50:37Z Antarctic Terns Sterna oittata (Fig. 1) may display two very different migratory behaviours. According to Cooper (1976), the terns breeding on Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic fly thousands of kilometers to the coasts of Africa where they moult. Antarctic Terns that inhabit the more southern and colder Antarctic Peninsula region moult on their breeding grounds. An early account of these seemingly resident peninsular terns (Holdgate 1963) leaves little doubt that at least part of the tern population wintered in the vicinity of Arthur Harbor (64°46′S 64°03′W), Anvers Island, west of the Antarctic Peninsula. Watson (1975) stated that adult Antarctic Terns are generally sedentary around many insular breeding stations, moving only to the nearest open water in winter. During the year 1975 through 1978, 19 tern specimens of different sexes and ages were collected at Arthur Harbor in the non‐breeding season near U.S. Palmer Station. An additional eight terns were collected at a sea short distance from Anvers Island during the non‐breeding season in 1985 (Pietz & Strong, in press). I found that the adult birds taken at the height of winter weighed significantly more than the 150‐180g of a normal breeding Antarctic Tern. This unexpected discovery prompted me to examine the weights of an additional 34 specimens that had been collected at or near Anvers Island during several breeding seasons. By comparing the weights of adult terns by sex, age, and collection date (Fig. 2, Table 1) I found that both males and females weighed significantly more in the winter non‐breeding season (April‐September) than in the summer breeding season (October‐March) (t 24 = 6.57, P < 0.001, and t 16 = 5.71, P < 0.001, respectively). No significant differences were detected between male and female weights in summer(t 23 =0.76, P >0.20) or winter (t 17 =1.16, P 0.20). In short, it appears that body‐weights of adult terns rise rather dramatically following breeding, attain a peak in mid‐winter, and then fall at the approach of ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Anvers Island Sterna vittata Wiley Online Library Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Anvers ENVELOPE(-63.500,-63.500,-64.600,-64.600) Anvers Island ENVELOPE(-63.500,-63.500,-64.600,-64.600) Arthur Harbor ENVELOPE(-64.067,-64.067,-64.767,-64.767) Austral Palmer Station ENVELOPE(-64.050,-64.050,-64.770,-64.770) Palmer-Station ENVELOPE(-64.050,-64.050,-64.770,-64.770) The Antarctic Tristan ENVELOPE(140.900,140.900,-66.735,-66.735) Ibis 130 4 438 443 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Antarctic Terns Sterna oittata (Fig. 1) may display two very different migratory behaviours. According to Cooper (1976), the terns breeding on Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic fly thousands of kilometers to the coasts of Africa where they moult. Antarctic Terns that inhabit the more southern and colder Antarctic Peninsula region moult on their breeding grounds. An early account of these seemingly resident peninsular terns (Holdgate 1963) leaves little doubt that at least part of the tern population wintered in the vicinity of Arthur Harbor (64°46′S 64°03′W), Anvers Island, west of the Antarctic Peninsula. Watson (1975) stated that adult Antarctic Terns are generally sedentary around many insular breeding stations, moving only to the nearest open water in winter. During the year 1975 through 1978, 19 tern specimens of different sexes and ages were collected at Arthur Harbor in the non‐breeding season near U.S. Palmer Station. An additional eight terns were collected at a sea short distance from Anvers Island during the non‐breeding season in 1985 (Pietz & Strong, in press). I found that the adult birds taken at the height of winter weighed significantly more than the 150‐180g of a normal breeding Antarctic Tern. This unexpected discovery prompted me to examine the weights of an additional 34 specimens that had been collected at or near Anvers Island during several breeding seasons. By comparing the weights of adult terns by sex, age, and collection date (Fig. 2, Table 1) I found that both males and females weighed significantly more in the winter non‐breeding season (April‐September) than in the summer breeding season (October‐March) (t 24 = 6.57, P < 0.001, and t 16 = 5.71, P < 0.001, respectively). No significant differences were detected between male and female weights in summer(t 23 =0.76, P >0.20) or winter (t 17 =1.16, P 0.20). In short, it appears that body‐weights of adult terns rise rather dramatically following breeding, attain a peak in mid‐winter, and then fall at the approach of ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
PARMELEE, D. F. |
spellingShingle |
PARMELEE, D. F. Unexpected weight gain in resident Antarctic Terns Sterna vittata during the austral winter |
author_facet |
PARMELEE, D. F. |
author_sort |
PARMELEE, D. F. |
title |
Unexpected weight gain in resident Antarctic Terns Sterna vittata during the austral winter |
title_short |
Unexpected weight gain in resident Antarctic Terns Sterna vittata during the austral winter |
title_full |
Unexpected weight gain in resident Antarctic Terns Sterna vittata during the austral winter |
title_fullStr |
Unexpected weight gain in resident Antarctic Terns Sterna vittata during the austral winter |
title_full_unstemmed |
Unexpected weight gain in resident Antarctic Terns Sterna vittata during the austral winter |
title_sort |
unexpected weight gain in resident antarctic terns sterna vittata during the austral winter |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
1988 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919x.1988.tb01001.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1474-919X.1988.tb01001.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1988.tb01001.x |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.500,-63.500,-64.600,-64.600) ENVELOPE(-63.500,-63.500,-64.600,-64.600) ENVELOPE(-64.067,-64.067,-64.767,-64.767) ENVELOPE(-64.050,-64.050,-64.770,-64.770) ENVELOPE(-64.050,-64.050,-64.770,-64.770) ENVELOPE(140.900,140.900,-66.735,-66.735) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Anvers Anvers Island Arthur Harbor Austral Palmer Station Palmer-Station The Antarctic Tristan |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Anvers Anvers Island Arthur Harbor Austral Palmer Station Palmer-Station The Antarctic Tristan |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Anvers Island Sterna vittata |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Anvers Island Sterna vittata |
op_source |
Ibis volume 130, issue 4, page 438-443 ISSN 0019-1019 1474-919X |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919x.1988.tb01001.x |
container_title |
Ibis |
container_volume |
130 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
438 |
op_container_end_page |
443 |
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1800741355796824064 |