SOOTY SHEARWATERS PUFFINUS GRISEUS IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC — MOULT STUDIES USING DIGITAL CAMERAS

• Main Author: Guido O Keijl
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: North Atlantic; Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.690.9093; http://marineornithology.org/PDF/39_1/39_1_141-142.pdf

Studying moult in pelagic seabirds in a quantified manner is difficult, since moulting birds are largely at sea, away from the breeding grounds (Nelson 1980, Nettleship & Birkhead 1985). Birds found dead during beach patrols (Cooper et al. 1991) are often used for study, although such studies may be compromised by the fact that samples are small and may not be representative of the population. Digital photography of birds at sea, however, now offers the opportunity to quantify moult of flight feathers. As an example, I report on opportunistic observations of moulting Sooty Shearwaters Puffinus griseus in the Northeast Atlantic. The study was carried out during a dedicated marine mammal survey of deep North Atlantic waters on board R/V Mars Chaser, from