Seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the Bering and Chukchi seas
The short-tailed shearwater ( Ardenna tenuirostris ) is one of the abundant marine top predators in the Pacific; this seabird spends its non-breeding period in the northern North Pacific during May–October and many visit the southern Chukchi Sea in August–September. We examined potential factors aff...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e2a0363238964de294009c6500454e72 2023-05-15T15:13:06+02:00 Seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the Bering and Chukchi seas B. Nishizawa K. Matsuno E. A. Labunski K. J. Kuletz A. Yamaguchi Y. Watanuki 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-203-2017 https://doaj.org/article/e2a0363238964de294009c6500454e72 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.biogeosciences.net/14/203/2017/bg-14-203-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-14-203-2017 https://doaj.org/article/e2a0363238964de294009c6500454e72 Biogeosciences, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 203-214 (2017) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-203-2017 2022-12-31T05:12:48Z The short-tailed shearwater ( Ardenna tenuirostris ) is one of the abundant marine top predators in the Pacific; this seabird spends its non-breeding period in the northern North Pacific during May–October and many visit the southern Chukchi Sea in August–September. We examined potential factors affecting this seasonal pattern of distribution by counting short-tailed shearwaters from boats. Their main prey, krill, was sampled by net tows in the southeastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and in the Bering Strait/southern Chukchi Sea. Short-tailed shearwaters were mainly distributed in the southeastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (60 ± 473 birds km −2 ) in July 2013, and in the Bering Strait/southern Chukchi Sea (19 ± 91 birds km −2 ) in September 2012. In the Bering Strait/southern Chukchi Sea, krill size was greater in September 2012 (9.6 ± 5.0 mm in total length) than in July 2013 (1.9 ± 1.2 mm). Within the Bering Strait/southern Chukchi Sea in September 2012, short-tailed shearwaters occurred more frequently in cells (50 × 50 km) where large-sized krill were more abundant. These findings, and information previously collected in other studies, suggest that the seasonal northward movement of short-tailed shearwaters might be associated with the seasonal increase in krill size in the Bering Strait/southern Chukchi Sea. We could not, however, rule out the possibility that large interannual variation in krill abundance might influence the seasonal distribution of shearwaters. This study highlights the importance of krill, which is advected from the Pacific, as an important prey of top predators in the Arctic marine ecosystem. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Bering Sea Bering Strait Chukchi Chukchi Sea Aleutian Islands Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Bering Sea Chukchi Sea Bering Strait Pacific Biogeosciences 14 1 203 214 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 B. Nishizawa K. Matsuno E. A. Labunski K. J. Kuletz A. Yamaguchi Y. Watanuki Seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the Bering and Chukchi seas |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The short-tailed shearwater ( Ardenna tenuirostris ) is one of the abundant marine top predators in the Pacific; this seabird spends its non-breeding period in the northern North Pacific during May–October and many visit the southern Chukchi Sea in August–September. We examined potential factors affecting this seasonal pattern of distribution by counting short-tailed shearwaters from boats. Their main prey, krill, was sampled by net tows in the southeastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and in the Bering Strait/southern Chukchi Sea. Short-tailed shearwaters were mainly distributed in the southeastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (60 ± 473 birds km −2 ) in July 2013, and in the Bering Strait/southern Chukchi Sea (19 ± 91 birds km −2 ) in September 2012. In the Bering Strait/southern Chukchi Sea, krill size was greater in September 2012 (9.6 ± 5.0 mm in total length) than in July 2013 (1.9 ± 1.2 mm). Within the Bering Strait/southern Chukchi Sea in September 2012, short-tailed shearwaters occurred more frequently in cells (50 × 50 km) where large-sized krill were more abundant. These findings, and information previously collected in other studies, suggest that the seasonal northward movement of short-tailed shearwaters might be associated with the seasonal increase in krill size in the Bering Strait/southern Chukchi Sea. We could not, however, rule out the possibility that large interannual variation in krill abundance might influence the seasonal distribution of shearwaters. This study highlights the importance of krill, which is advected from the Pacific, as an important prey of top predators in the Arctic marine ecosystem. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
B. Nishizawa K. Matsuno E. A. Labunski K. J. Kuletz A. Yamaguchi Y. Watanuki |
author_facet |
B. Nishizawa K. Matsuno E. A. Labunski K. J. Kuletz A. Yamaguchi Y. Watanuki |
author_sort |
B. Nishizawa |
title |
Seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the Bering and Chukchi seas |
title_short |
Seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the Bering and Chukchi seas |
title_full |
Seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the Bering and Chukchi seas |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the Bering and Chukchi seas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the Bering and Chukchi seas |
title_sort |
seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the bering and chukchi seas |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-203-2017 https://doaj.org/article/e2a0363238964de294009c6500454e72 |
geographic |
Arctic Bering Sea Chukchi Sea Bering Strait Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Bering Sea Chukchi Sea Bering Strait Pacific |
genre |
Arctic Bering Sea Bering Strait Chukchi Chukchi Sea Aleutian Islands |
genre_facet |
Arctic Bering Sea Bering Strait Chukchi Chukchi Sea Aleutian Islands |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 203-214 (2017) |
op_relation |
http://www.biogeosciences.net/14/203/2017/bg-14-203-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-14-203-2017 https://doaj.org/article/e2a0363238964de294009c6500454e72 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-203-2017 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
203 |
op_container_end_page |
214 |
_version_ |
1766343704418713600 |