Trophic niches of a seabird assemblage in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia
The foraging niches of seabirds are driven by a variety of factors, including competition for prey that promotes divergence in trophic niches. Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia, is a key region for seabirds, with little penguins Eudyptula minor, short-tailed shearwaters Ardenna tenuirostris, fair...
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ftdeakinunifig:oai:figshare.com:article/20711080 2024-09-09T20:10:09+00:00 Trophic niches of a seabird assemblage in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia A Fromant N Schumann P Dann Y Cherel John Arnould 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30135964 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Trophic_niches_of_a_seabird_assemblage_in_Bass_Strait_south-eastern_Australia/20711080 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30135964 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Trophic_niches_of_a_seabird_assemblage_in_Bass_Strait_south-eastern_Australia/20711080 CC BY 4.0 Ecology not elsewhere classified Zoology not elsewhere classified Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics Seabirds Stable isotopes Isotopic niche Trophic niche Diet Niche segregation Southern Ocean Penguin Procellariiform PENGUINS EUDYPTULA-MINOR SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS COMMON DIVING-PETRELS STABLE-ISOTOPES PELECANOIDES-URINATRIX FEEDING ECOLOGY PHILLIP-ISLAND INTRASPECIFIC COMPETITION REPRODUCTIVE-PERFORMANCE FORAGING BEHAVIOR School of Life and Environmental Sciences 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology Text Journal contribution 2020 ftdeakinunifig 2024-06-20T00:40:45Z The foraging niches of seabirds are driven by a variety of factors, including competition for prey that promotes divergence in trophic niches. Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia, is a key region for seabirds, with little penguins Eudyptula minor, short-tailed shearwaters Ardenna tenuirostris, fairy prions Pachyptila turtur and common diving-petrels Pelecanoides urinatrix being particularly abundant in the region. The trophic niches of these species were investigated using isotopic values in whole blood and by identifying prey remains in stomach contents. The four species occupied different isotopic niches that varied among years, seasons and regions. Little penguins consumed mainly fish whereas the three procellariforms primarily consumed coastal krill Nyctiphanes australis. The dietary similarities between the procellariforms suggest that food resources are segregated in other ways, with interspecific differences in isotope niches possibly reflecting differential consumption of key prey, divergent foraging locations and depth, and differences in breeding phenology. Because oceanographic changes predicted to occur due to climate change may result in reduced coastal krill availability, adversely affecting these seabird predators, further information on foraging zones and feeding behaviour of small procellariform species is needed to elucidate more fully the segregation of foraging niches, the capacity of seabirds to adapt to climate change and the potential for interspecific competition in the region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Southern Ocean DRO - Deakin Research Online Southern Ocean |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DRO - Deakin Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftdeakinunifig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Ecology not elsewhere classified Zoology not elsewhere classified Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics Seabirds Stable isotopes Isotopic niche Trophic niche Diet Niche segregation Southern Ocean Penguin Procellariiform PENGUINS EUDYPTULA-MINOR SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS COMMON DIVING-PETRELS STABLE-ISOTOPES PELECANOIDES-URINATRIX FEEDING ECOLOGY PHILLIP-ISLAND INTRASPECIFIC COMPETITION REPRODUCTIVE-PERFORMANCE FORAGING BEHAVIOR School of Life and Environmental Sciences 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology |
spellingShingle |
Ecology not elsewhere classified Zoology not elsewhere classified Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics Seabirds Stable isotopes Isotopic niche Trophic niche Diet Niche segregation Southern Ocean Penguin Procellariiform PENGUINS EUDYPTULA-MINOR SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS COMMON DIVING-PETRELS STABLE-ISOTOPES PELECANOIDES-URINATRIX FEEDING ECOLOGY PHILLIP-ISLAND INTRASPECIFIC COMPETITION REPRODUCTIVE-PERFORMANCE FORAGING BEHAVIOR School of Life and Environmental Sciences 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology A Fromant N Schumann P Dann Y Cherel John Arnould Trophic niches of a seabird assemblage in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia |
topic_facet |
Ecology not elsewhere classified Zoology not elsewhere classified Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics Seabirds Stable isotopes Isotopic niche Trophic niche Diet Niche segregation Southern Ocean Penguin Procellariiform PENGUINS EUDYPTULA-MINOR SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS COMMON DIVING-PETRELS STABLE-ISOTOPES PELECANOIDES-URINATRIX FEEDING ECOLOGY PHILLIP-ISLAND INTRASPECIFIC COMPETITION REPRODUCTIVE-PERFORMANCE FORAGING BEHAVIOR School of Life and Environmental Sciences 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology |
description |
The foraging niches of seabirds are driven by a variety of factors, including competition for prey that promotes divergence in trophic niches. Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia, is a key region for seabirds, with little penguins Eudyptula minor, short-tailed shearwaters Ardenna tenuirostris, fairy prions Pachyptila turtur and common diving-petrels Pelecanoides urinatrix being particularly abundant in the region. The trophic niches of these species were investigated using isotopic values in whole blood and by identifying prey remains in stomach contents. The four species occupied different isotopic niches that varied among years, seasons and regions. Little penguins consumed mainly fish whereas the three procellariforms primarily consumed coastal krill Nyctiphanes australis. The dietary similarities between the procellariforms suggest that food resources are segregated in other ways, with interspecific differences in isotope niches possibly reflecting differential consumption of key prey, divergent foraging locations and depth, and differences in breeding phenology. Because oceanographic changes predicted to occur due to climate change may result in reduced coastal krill availability, adversely affecting these seabird predators, further information on foraging zones and feeding behaviour of small procellariform species is needed to elucidate more fully the segregation of foraging niches, the capacity of seabirds to adapt to climate change and the potential for interspecific competition in the region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A Fromant N Schumann P Dann Y Cherel John Arnould |
author_facet |
A Fromant N Schumann P Dann Y Cherel John Arnould |
author_sort |
A Fromant |
title |
Trophic niches of a seabird assemblage in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia |
title_short |
Trophic niches of a seabird assemblage in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia |
title_full |
Trophic niches of a seabird assemblage in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia |
title_fullStr |
Trophic niches of a seabird assemblage in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Trophic niches of a seabird assemblage in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia |
title_sort |
trophic niches of a seabird assemblage in bass strait, south-eastern australia |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30135964 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Trophic_niches_of_a_seabird_assemblage_in_Bass_Strait_south-eastern_Australia/20711080 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30135964 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Trophic_niches_of_a_seabird_assemblage_in_Bass_Strait_south-eastern_Australia/20711080 |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 |
_version_ |
1809944519485947904 |