Effects of warm sea-surface temperature anomalies on the blue petrel at the Kerguelen Islands

Several long-term studies on Southern Ocean seabirds and seals have suggested a possible link between major declines in breeding performance and El Niño Southern Oscillation events. We report that the breeding performances and body condition of the blue petrel (Halobaena carulea) on the Kerguelen Is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences
Main Authors: Guinet, C., Chastel, O., Koudil, M., Durbec, J. P., Jouventin, P.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1998
Subjects:
Article
Antarctic
Kerguelen
Kerguelen Islands
Southern Ocean
Antarc*
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1689162
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1998.0390
Description
Summary:Several long-term studies on Southern Ocean seabirds and seals have suggested a possible link between major declines in breeding performance and El Niño Southern Oscillation events. We report that the breeding performances and body condition of the blue petrel (Halobaena carulea) on the Kerguelen Islands is depressed by episodic, warm sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) in the winter before breeding. Lagged cross correlations between SSTs in the Kerguelen sector and the Southern Oscillation Index indicate that warm SSTs were found south of Kerguelen Islands within a year of, and between 4.2 and 5.4 years after, an El Niño event took place. These results can be discussed with respect to the recently described Antarctic Circumpolar Wave that drives climatic anomalies eastward around the Southern Ocean.

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