Common Tern Foraging: Seasonal Trends in Prey Fish Densities and Competition with Bluefish
We present a method for making direct quantitative measurements of population dymamics of fish species preyed upon by seabirds. We studied foraging behavior of Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) in relation to density of fish prey of Long Island, New York. We used an echo sounder to record the abundance...
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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1985
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1938008 http://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1938008 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1938008 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2307/1938008 |
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crwiley:10.2307/1938008 2024-03-24T09:01:25+00:00 Common Tern Foraging: Seasonal Trends in Prey Fish Densities and Competition with Bluefish Safina, Carl Burger, Joanna 1985 http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1938008 http://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1938008 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1938008 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2307/1938008 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Ecology volume 66, issue 5, page 1457-1463 ISSN 0012-9658 1939-9170 Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1985 crwiley https://doi.org/10.2307/1938008 2024-02-28T02:16:18Z We present a method for making direct quantitative measurements of population dymamics of fish species preyed upon by seabirds. We studied foraging behavior of Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) in relation to density of fish prey of Long Island, New York. We used an echo sounder to record the abundance of small prey fish and large predatory fish near a tern colony. Prey fish abundance was highest when terns were feeding young chicks and declined sharply later in the season, coincident with the arrival of large numbers of predatory bluefish (Pomatomus saltarix). Mean depth of occurrence of prey fish was shallower after the arrival of bluefish. Terns fished in areas with high concentrations of prey, but there was no correlation between numbers of feeding terns and prey density. Number of feeding terns was inversely correlated with prey depth, however. Terns were strongly attracted to predatory fishes feeding near the surface. We suggest that in addition to concentrating prey fish near the surface, predatory fish may have been important as competitors. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common tern Sterna hirundo Wiley Online Library Long Island Ecology 66 5 1457 1463 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Safina, Carl Burger, Joanna Common Tern Foraging: Seasonal Trends in Prey Fish Densities and Competition with Bluefish |
topic_facet |
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
We present a method for making direct quantitative measurements of population dymamics of fish species preyed upon by seabirds. We studied foraging behavior of Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) in relation to density of fish prey of Long Island, New York. We used an echo sounder to record the abundance of small prey fish and large predatory fish near a tern colony. Prey fish abundance was highest when terns were feeding young chicks and declined sharply later in the season, coincident with the arrival of large numbers of predatory bluefish (Pomatomus saltarix). Mean depth of occurrence of prey fish was shallower after the arrival of bluefish. Terns fished in areas with high concentrations of prey, but there was no correlation between numbers of feeding terns and prey density. Number of feeding terns was inversely correlated with prey depth, however. Terns were strongly attracted to predatory fishes feeding near the surface. We suggest that in addition to concentrating prey fish near the surface, predatory fish may have been important as competitors. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Safina, Carl Burger, Joanna |
author_facet |
Safina, Carl Burger, Joanna |
author_sort |
Safina, Carl |
title |
Common Tern Foraging: Seasonal Trends in Prey Fish Densities and Competition with Bluefish |
title_short |
Common Tern Foraging: Seasonal Trends in Prey Fish Densities and Competition with Bluefish |
title_full |
Common Tern Foraging: Seasonal Trends in Prey Fish Densities and Competition with Bluefish |
title_fullStr |
Common Tern Foraging: Seasonal Trends in Prey Fish Densities and Competition with Bluefish |
title_full_unstemmed |
Common Tern Foraging: Seasonal Trends in Prey Fish Densities and Competition with Bluefish |
title_sort |
common tern foraging: seasonal trends in prey fish densities and competition with bluefish |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
1985 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1938008 http://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1938008 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1938008 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2307/1938008 |
geographic |
Long Island |
geographic_facet |
Long Island |
genre |
Common tern Sterna hirundo |
genre_facet |
Common tern Sterna hirundo |
op_source |
Ecology volume 66, issue 5, page 1457-1463 ISSN 0012-9658 1939-9170 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2307/1938008 |
container_title |
Ecology |
container_volume |
66 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1457 |
op_container_end_page |
1463 |
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1794401517156958208 |