Oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones.
In late summer and autumn, the passage of intense tropical cyclones can profoundly perturb oceanic and coastal ecosystems. Direct negative effects on individuals and marine communities can be dramatic, especially in the coastal zone,1,2,3,4 but cyclones can also enhance pelagic primary and secondary...
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ftpubmed:38986616 2024-09-09T19:57:36+00:00 Oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones. Ventura, Francesco Sander, Neele Catry, Paulo Wakefield, Ewan De Pascalis, Federico Richardson, Philip L Granadeiro, José Pedro Silva, Mónica C Ummenhofer, Caroline C 2024 Jul 22 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.022 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38986616 eng eng Elsevier Science https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.022 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38986616 Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Curr Biol ISSN:1879-0445 Volume:34 Issue:14 Pterodroma cyclone dynamic soaring extreme weather flight behavior foraging ecology hurricane seabird storm wind Journal Article 2024 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.022 2024-07-25T16:05:00Z In late summer and autumn, the passage of intense tropical cyclones can profoundly perturb oceanic and coastal ecosystems. Direct negative effects on individuals and marine communities can be dramatic, especially in the coastal zone,1,2,3,4 but cyclones can also enhance pelagic primary and secondary production.5,6,7,8,9 However, cyclone impacts on open ocean marine life remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate their effects on the foraging movements of a wide-ranging higher predator, the Desertas petrel (Pterodroma deserta), in the mid-latitude North Atlantic during hurricane season. Contrary to previously studied pelagic seabirds in tropical and mid-latitude regions,10,11 Desertas petrels did not avoid cyclones by altering course, nor did they seek calmer conditions within the cyclone eye. Approximately one-third of petrels tracked from their breeding colony interacted with approaching cyclones. Upon encountering strong winds, the birds reduced ground speed, likely by spending less time in flight. A quarter of birds followed cyclone wakes for days and over thousands of kilometers, a behavior documented here for the first time. Within these wakes, tailwind support was higher than along alternative routes. Furthermore, at the mesoscale (hours-weeks and hundreds of kilometers), sea surface temperature dropped and surface chlorophyll sharply increased, suggesting direct effects on ocean stratification, primary production, and therefore presumably prey abundance and accessibility for surface-feeding petrels. We therefore hypothesize that cyclone wakes provide both predictably favorable wind conditions and foraging opportunities. As such, cyclones may have positive net effects on the demography of many mid-latitude pelagic seabirds and, likely, other marine top-predators. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic PubMed Central (PMC) Current Biology 34 14 3279 3285.e3 |
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Open Polar |
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PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Pterodroma cyclone dynamic soaring extreme weather flight behavior foraging ecology hurricane seabird storm wind |
spellingShingle |
Pterodroma cyclone dynamic soaring extreme weather flight behavior foraging ecology hurricane seabird storm wind Ventura, Francesco Sander, Neele Catry, Paulo Wakefield, Ewan De Pascalis, Federico Richardson, Philip L Granadeiro, José Pedro Silva, Mónica C Ummenhofer, Caroline C Oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones. |
topic_facet |
Pterodroma cyclone dynamic soaring extreme weather flight behavior foraging ecology hurricane seabird storm wind |
description |
In late summer and autumn, the passage of intense tropical cyclones can profoundly perturb oceanic and coastal ecosystems. Direct negative effects on individuals and marine communities can be dramatic, especially in the coastal zone,1,2,3,4 but cyclones can also enhance pelagic primary and secondary production.5,6,7,8,9 However, cyclone impacts on open ocean marine life remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate their effects on the foraging movements of a wide-ranging higher predator, the Desertas petrel (Pterodroma deserta), in the mid-latitude North Atlantic during hurricane season. Contrary to previously studied pelagic seabirds in tropical and mid-latitude regions,10,11 Desertas petrels did not avoid cyclones by altering course, nor did they seek calmer conditions within the cyclone eye. Approximately one-third of petrels tracked from their breeding colony interacted with approaching cyclones. Upon encountering strong winds, the birds reduced ground speed, likely by spending less time in flight. A quarter of birds followed cyclone wakes for days and over thousands of kilometers, a behavior documented here for the first time. Within these wakes, tailwind support was higher than along alternative routes. Furthermore, at the mesoscale (hours-weeks and hundreds of kilometers), sea surface temperature dropped and surface chlorophyll sharply increased, suggesting direct effects on ocean stratification, primary production, and therefore presumably prey abundance and accessibility for surface-feeding petrels. We therefore hypothesize that cyclone wakes provide both predictably favorable wind conditions and foraging opportunities. As such, cyclones may have positive net effects on the demography of many mid-latitude pelagic seabirds and, likely, other marine top-predators. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ventura, Francesco Sander, Neele Catry, Paulo Wakefield, Ewan De Pascalis, Federico Richardson, Philip L Granadeiro, José Pedro Silva, Mónica C Ummenhofer, Caroline C |
author_facet |
Ventura, Francesco Sander, Neele Catry, Paulo Wakefield, Ewan De Pascalis, Federico Richardson, Philip L Granadeiro, José Pedro Silva, Mónica C Ummenhofer, Caroline C |
author_sort |
Ventura, Francesco |
title |
Oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones. |
title_short |
Oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones. |
title_full |
Oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones. |
title_fullStr |
Oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones. |
title_sort |
oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones. |
publisher |
Elsevier Science |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.022 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38986616 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Curr Biol ISSN:1879-0445 Volume:34 Issue:14 |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.022 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38986616 |
op_rights |
Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.022 |
container_title |
Current Biology |
container_volume |
34 |
container_issue |
14 |
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3279 |
op_container_end_page |
3285.e3 |
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1809928537256230912 |