Flexibility of foraging strategies of the great skua Stercorarius skua breeding in the largest colony in the Barents Sea region
Abstract Background Foraging strategies of seabird species often vary considerably between and within individuals. This variability is influenced by a multitude of factors including age, sex, stage of annual life cycle, reproductive status, individual specialization and environmental conditions. Res...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:07cae65f39c24cb2837a22848fd2fbee 2023-05-15T15:12:24+02:00 Flexibility of foraging strategies of the great skua Stercorarius skua breeding in the largest colony in the Barents Sea region Dariusz Jakubas Lech M. Iliszko Hallvard Strøm Halfdan H. Helgason Lech Stempniewicz 2018-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-018-0257-x https://doaj.org/article/07cae65f39c24cb2837a22848fd2fbee EN eng BMC http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12983-018-0257-x https://doaj.org/toc/1742-9994 doi:10.1186/s12983-018-0257-x 1742-9994 https://doaj.org/article/07cae65f39c24cb2837a22848fd2fbee Frontiers in Zoology, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2018) Seabird Arctic Foraging behaviour Individual foraging specialization Zoology QL1-991 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-018-0257-x 2022-12-31T13:22:07Z Abstract Background Foraging strategies of seabird species often vary considerably between and within individuals. This variability is influenced by a multitude of factors including age, sex, stage of annual life cycle, reproductive status, individual specialization and environmental conditions. Results Using GPS-loggers, we investigated factors affecting foraging flight characteristics (total duration, maximal range, total distance covered) of great skuas Stercorarius skua of known sex breeding on Bjørnøya, Svalbard, the largest colony in the Barents Sea region. We examined influence of sex (females are larger than males), phase of breeding (incubation, chick-rearing), reproductive status (breeders, failed breeders) and bird ID (they are known for individual foraging specialization). Our analyses revealed that only bird ID affected foraging flight characteristics significantly, indicating a high degree of plasticity regardless of sex, reproductive status or phase of breeding. We recognized three main groups of individuals: 1) those preying mainly on other seabirds in the breeding colonies (6%), 2) those foraging at sea (76%) and kleptoparasiting other seabirds and/or foraging on fish and/or offal discarded by fishing vessels, and 3) those alternating between preying on other seabirds in breeding colonies and foraging at sea (18%). Despite marked size sexual dimorphism, we found no apparent sex differences in flight characteristics. Birds after egg- or chick-loss and thus not constrained as central foragers did not modify their foraging flights. Conclusions Great skuas breeding on Bjørnøya displayed a high degree of plasticity regardless of sex, reproductive status or phase of breeding. We recognized groups of individuals regularly preying in the seabird colonies, foraging at sea, and alternating between both strategies. This suggests foraging specialization of some individuals. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Barents Sea Bjørnøya Bjørnøya Great skua Stercorarius skua Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Svalbard Barents Sea Bjørnøya ENVELOPE(-67.250,-67.250,-68.151,-68.151) Frontiers in Zoology 15 1 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Seabird Arctic Foraging behaviour Individual foraging specialization Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
Seabird Arctic Foraging behaviour Individual foraging specialization Zoology QL1-991 Dariusz Jakubas Lech M. Iliszko Hallvard Strøm Halfdan H. Helgason Lech Stempniewicz Flexibility of foraging strategies of the great skua Stercorarius skua breeding in the largest colony in the Barents Sea region |
topic_facet |
Seabird Arctic Foraging behaviour Individual foraging specialization Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
Abstract Background Foraging strategies of seabird species often vary considerably between and within individuals. This variability is influenced by a multitude of factors including age, sex, stage of annual life cycle, reproductive status, individual specialization and environmental conditions. Results Using GPS-loggers, we investigated factors affecting foraging flight characteristics (total duration, maximal range, total distance covered) of great skuas Stercorarius skua of known sex breeding on Bjørnøya, Svalbard, the largest colony in the Barents Sea region. We examined influence of sex (females are larger than males), phase of breeding (incubation, chick-rearing), reproductive status (breeders, failed breeders) and bird ID (they are known for individual foraging specialization). Our analyses revealed that only bird ID affected foraging flight characteristics significantly, indicating a high degree of plasticity regardless of sex, reproductive status or phase of breeding. We recognized three main groups of individuals: 1) those preying mainly on other seabirds in the breeding colonies (6%), 2) those foraging at sea (76%) and kleptoparasiting other seabirds and/or foraging on fish and/or offal discarded by fishing vessels, and 3) those alternating between preying on other seabirds in breeding colonies and foraging at sea (18%). Despite marked size sexual dimorphism, we found no apparent sex differences in flight characteristics. Birds after egg- or chick-loss and thus not constrained as central foragers did not modify their foraging flights. Conclusions Great skuas breeding on Bjørnøya displayed a high degree of plasticity regardless of sex, reproductive status or phase of breeding. We recognized groups of individuals regularly preying in the seabird colonies, foraging at sea, and alternating between both strategies. This suggests foraging specialization of some individuals. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dariusz Jakubas Lech M. Iliszko Hallvard Strøm Halfdan H. Helgason Lech Stempniewicz |
author_facet |
Dariusz Jakubas Lech M. Iliszko Hallvard Strøm Halfdan H. Helgason Lech Stempniewicz |
author_sort |
Dariusz Jakubas |
title |
Flexibility of foraging strategies of the great skua Stercorarius skua breeding in the largest colony in the Barents Sea region |
title_short |
Flexibility of foraging strategies of the great skua Stercorarius skua breeding in the largest colony in the Barents Sea region |
title_full |
Flexibility of foraging strategies of the great skua Stercorarius skua breeding in the largest colony in the Barents Sea region |
title_fullStr |
Flexibility of foraging strategies of the great skua Stercorarius skua breeding in the largest colony in the Barents Sea region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Flexibility of foraging strategies of the great skua Stercorarius skua breeding in the largest colony in the Barents Sea region |
title_sort |
flexibility of foraging strategies of the great skua stercorarius skua breeding in the largest colony in the barents sea region |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-018-0257-x https://doaj.org/article/07cae65f39c24cb2837a22848fd2fbee |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.250,-67.250,-68.151,-68.151) |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Barents Sea Bjørnøya |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Barents Sea Bjørnøya |
genre |
Arctic Barents Sea Bjørnøya Bjørnøya Great skua Stercorarius skua Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Bjørnøya Bjørnøya Great skua Stercorarius skua Svalbard |
op_source |
Frontiers in Zoology, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12983-018-0257-x https://doaj.org/toc/1742-9994 doi:10.1186/s12983-018-0257-x 1742-9994 https://doaj.org/article/07cae65f39c24cb2837a22848fd2fbee |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-018-0257-x |
container_title |
Frontiers in Zoology |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766343084465979392 |