Identification of an assembly site for migratory and tropical seabirds in the South Atlantic Ocean
Seabirds are good indicators of wider biodiversity and where they assemble in large numbers signifies sites important to many marine faunal species. Few such large assemblage sites have been identified and none in pelagic waters has been identified in the tropical Atlantic Ocean despite their import...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:72a891bf431a4bc6aa23ecf4be9daeac 2023-05-15T18:20:58+02:00 Identification of an assembly site for migratory and tropical seabirds in the South Atlantic Ocean B. John Hughes Graham R. Martin Anthony D. Giles Roger C. Dickey S. James Reynolds 2015-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2015.04.011 https://doaj.org/article/72a891bf431a4bc6aa23ecf4be9daeac EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000475 https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894 2351-9894 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2015.04.011 https://doaj.org/article/72a891bf431a4bc6aa23ecf4be9daeac Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 4, Iss C, Pp 38-47 (2015) Ascension Island Assembly site Long-distance migrants Marine Protection Area Marine Reserves Coalition Pelagic seabirds Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2015.04.011 2022-12-31T01:57:52Z Seabirds are good indicators of wider biodiversity and where they assemble in large numbers signifies sites important to many marine faunal species. Few such large assemblage sites have been identified and none in pelagic waters has been identified in the tropical Atlantic Ocean despite their importance for resident seabirds and those ‘on passage’ during migration. Here, we identify the likely location of just such an assembly site and provide preliminary information about the distribution of pelagic seabirds around Ascension Island in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean using a combination of trans-equatorial seabird migrant tracking data, records of at-sea surveys and land counts of seabirds returning from foraging trips. We found that waters north–north-west of Ascension Island are used more often by seabirds than those south and east of the island. Three-fifths of the species recorded in the assembly site breed at mid- or high-latitudes and some of these migratory seabirds stopover possibly to wait for favourable winds that facilitate onward flight. Our findings are important because to the best of our knowledge no seabird assembly sites have previously been identified in tropical Atlantic Ocean pelagic waters. We provide evidence to support the aspirations of the Marine Reserves Coalition that waters in the vicinity of Ascension Island should be recognised as a sanctuary for marine wildlife and we highlight an area that is worthy of further targeted investigation. Article in Journal/Newspaper South Atlantic Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Global Ecology and Conservation 4 38 47 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ascension Island Assembly site Long-distance migrants Marine Protection Area Marine Reserves Coalition Pelagic seabirds Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ascension Island Assembly site Long-distance migrants Marine Protection Area Marine Reserves Coalition Pelagic seabirds Ecology QH540-549.5 B. John Hughes Graham R. Martin Anthony D. Giles Roger C. Dickey S. James Reynolds Identification of an assembly site for migratory and tropical seabirds in the South Atlantic Ocean |
topic_facet |
Ascension Island Assembly site Long-distance migrants Marine Protection Area Marine Reserves Coalition Pelagic seabirds Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Seabirds are good indicators of wider biodiversity and where they assemble in large numbers signifies sites important to many marine faunal species. Few such large assemblage sites have been identified and none in pelagic waters has been identified in the tropical Atlantic Ocean despite their importance for resident seabirds and those ‘on passage’ during migration. Here, we identify the likely location of just such an assembly site and provide preliminary information about the distribution of pelagic seabirds around Ascension Island in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean using a combination of trans-equatorial seabird migrant tracking data, records of at-sea surveys and land counts of seabirds returning from foraging trips. We found that waters north–north-west of Ascension Island are used more often by seabirds than those south and east of the island. Three-fifths of the species recorded in the assembly site breed at mid- or high-latitudes and some of these migratory seabirds stopover possibly to wait for favourable winds that facilitate onward flight. Our findings are important because to the best of our knowledge no seabird assembly sites have previously been identified in tropical Atlantic Ocean pelagic waters. We provide evidence to support the aspirations of the Marine Reserves Coalition that waters in the vicinity of Ascension Island should be recognised as a sanctuary for marine wildlife and we highlight an area that is worthy of further targeted investigation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
B. John Hughes Graham R. Martin Anthony D. Giles Roger C. Dickey S. James Reynolds |
author_facet |
B. John Hughes Graham R. Martin Anthony D. Giles Roger C. Dickey S. James Reynolds |
author_sort |
B. John Hughes |
title |
Identification of an assembly site for migratory and tropical seabirds in the South Atlantic Ocean |
title_short |
Identification of an assembly site for migratory and tropical seabirds in the South Atlantic Ocean |
title_full |
Identification of an assembly site for migratory and tropical seabirds in the South Atlantic Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Identification of an assembly site for migratory and tropical seabirds in the South Atlantic Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Identification of an assembly site for migratory and tropical seabirds in the South Atlantic Ocean |
title_sort |
identification of an assembly site for migratory and tropical seabirds in the south atlantic ocean |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2015.04.011 https://doaj.org/article/72a891bf431a4bc6aa23ecf4be9daeac |
genre |
South Atlantic Ocean |
genre_facet |
South Atlantic Ocean |
op_source |
Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 4, Iss C, Pp 38-47 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000475 https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894 2351-9894 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2015.04.011 https://doaj.org/article/72a891bf431a4bc6aa23ecf4be9daeac |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2015.04.011 |
container_title |
Global Ecology and Conservation |
container_volume |
4 |
container_start_page |
38 |
op_container_end_page |
47 |
_version_ |
1766199945828761600 |