Large-scale seabird community structure along oceanographic gradients in the Scotia Sea and northern Antarctic Peninsula
IntroductionThe Scotia Sea and Antarctic Peninsula are warming rapidly and changes in species distribution are expected. In predicting habitat shifts and considering appropriate management strategies for marine predators, a community-level understanding of how these predators are distributed is desi...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1233820 https://doaj.org/article/aadbca9ff2114a96a5fe24f941ff7376 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:aadbca9ff2114a96a5fe24f941ff7376 2023-10-09T21:47:13+02:00 Large-scale seabird community structure along oceanographic gradients in the Scotia Sea and northern Antarctic Peninsula Victoria Marja Sofia Ollus Martin Biuw Andrew Lowther Per Fauchald John Elling Deehr Johannessen Lucía Martina Martín López Kalliopi C. Gkikopoulou W. Chris Oosthuizen Ulf Lindstrøm 2023-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1233820 https://doaj.org/article/aadbca9ff2114a96a5fe24f941ff7376 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1233820/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1233820 https://doaj.org/article/aadbca9ff2114a96a5fe24f941ff7376 Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 10 (2023) marine predators seabirds opportunistic sampling platforms spatial ecology biogeography habitat use Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1233820 2023-09-24T00:39:36Z IntroductionThe Scotia Sea and Antarctic Peninsula are warming rapidly and changes in species distribution are expected. In predicting habitat shifts and considering appropriate management strategies for marine predators, a community-level understanding of how these predators are distributed is desirable. Acquiring such data, particularly in remote areas, is often problematic given the cost associated with the operation of research vessels. Here we use cruise vessels as sampling platforms to explore seabird distribution relative to habitat characteristics.MethodsData on seabird at-sea distribution were collected using strip-transect counts throughout the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea in the austral summer of 2019-2020. Constrained correspondence analysis (CCA) and generalized additive models (GAM) were used to relate seabird community composition, density, and species richness to environmental covariates.ResultsSpecies assemblages differed between oceanographic areas, with sea surface temperature and distance to coast being the most important predictors of seabird distribution. Our results further revealed a geographic separation of distinct communities rather than hotspot regions in the study area in summer.DiscussionThese findings highlight the importance of large-scale environmental characteristics in shaping seabird community structure, presumably through underlying prey distribution and interspecific interactions. The present study contributes to the knowledge of seabird distribution and habitat use as well as the baseline for assessing the response of Antarctic seabird communities to climate warming. We argue that cruise vessels, when combined with structured research surveys, can provide a cost-effective additional tool for the monitoring of community and ecosystem level changes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Scotia Sea Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral Gam ENVELOPE(-57.955,-57.955,-61.923,-61.923) Scotia Sea The Antarctic Frontiers in Marine Science 10 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
marine predators seabirds opportunistic sampling platforms spatial ecology biogeography habitat use Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
marine predators seabirds opportunistic sampling platforms spatial ecology biogeography habitat use Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Victoria Marja Sofia Ollus Martin Biuw Andrew Lowther Per Fauchald John Elling Deehr Johannessen Lucía Martina Martín López Kalliopi C. Gkikopoulou W. Chris Oosthuizen Ulf Lindstrøm Large-scale seabird community structure along oceanographic gradients in the Scotia Sea and northern Antarctic Peninsula |
topic_facet |
marine predators seabirds opportunistic sampling platforms spatial ecology biogeography habitat use Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
IntroductionThe Scotia Sea and Antarctic Peninsula are warming rapidly and changes in species distribution are expected. In predicting habitat shifts and considering appropriate management strategies for marine predators, a community-level understanding of how these predators are distributed is desirable. Acquiring such data, particularly in remote areas, is often problematic given the cost associated with the operation of research vessels. Here we use cruise vessels as sampling platforms to explore seabird distribution relative to habitat characteristics.MethodsData on seabird at-sea distribution were collected using strip-transect counts throughout the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea in the austral summer of 2019-2020. Constrained correspondence analysis (CCA) and generalized additive models (GAM) were used to relate seabird community composition, density, and species richness to environmental covariates.ResultsSpecies assemblages differed between oceanographic areas, with sea surface temperature and distance to coast being the most important predictors of seabird distribution. Our results further revealed a geographic separation of distinct communities rather than hotspot regions in the study area in summer.DiscussionThese findings highlight the importance of large-scale environmental characteristics in shaping seabird community structure, presumably through underlying prey distribution and interspecific interactions. The present study contributes to the knowledge of seabird distribution and habitat use as well as the baseline for assessing the response of Antarctic seabird communities to climate warming. We argue that cruise vessels, when combined with structured research surveys, can provide a cost-effective additional tool for the monitoring of community and ecosystem level changes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Victoria Marja Sofia Ollus Martin Biuw Andrew Lowther Per Fauchald John Elling Deehr Johannessen Lucía Martina Martín López Kalliopi C. Gkikopoulou W. Chris Oosthuizen Ulf Lindstrøm |
author_facet |
Victoria Marja Sofia Ollus Martin Biuw Andrew Lowther Per Fauchald John Elling Deehr Johannessen Lucía Martina Martín López Kalliopi C. Gkikopoulou W. Chris Oosthuizen Ulf Lindstrøm |
author_sort |
Victoria Marja Sofia Ollus |
title |
Large-scale seabird community structure along oceanographic gradients in the Scotia Sea and northern Antarctic Peninsula |
title_short |
Large-scale seabird community structure along oceanographic gradients in the Scotia Sea and northern Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full |
Large-scale seabird community structure along oceanographic gradients in the Scotia Sea and northern Antarctic Peninsula |
title_fullStr |
Large-scale seabird community structure along oceanographic gradients in the Scotia Sea and northern Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full_unstemmed |
Large-scale seabird community structure along oceanographic gradients in the Scotia Sea and northern Antarctic Peninsula |
title_sort |
large-scale seabird community structure along oceanographic gradients in the scotia sea and northern antarctic peninsula |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1233820 https://doaj.org/article/aadbca9ff2114a96a5fe24f941ff7376 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-57.955,-57.955,-61.923,-61.923) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral Gam Scotia Sea The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral Gam Scotia Sea The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Scotia Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Scotia Sea |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 10 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1233820/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1233820 https://doaj.org/article/aadbca9ff2114a96a5fe24f941ff7376 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1233820 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
10 |
_version_ |
1779310159338668032 |