Diet and foraging areas of Southern Ocean seabirds and their prey inferred from stable isotopes: review and case study of Wilson’s storm-petrel
Analysis of stable isotope ratios in animal tissues has emerged as a powerful tool for determining the trophic level and composition of prey and foraging location. We summarize here data on the stepwise trophic enrichment in δ15N and latitudinal gradient in δ13C in the Southern Ocean, and derive a r...
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ftunivgiessen:oai:jlupub.ub.uni-giessen.de:jlupub/271 2023-12-24T10:11:20+01:00 Diet and foraging areas of Southern Ocean seabirds and their prey inferred from stable isotopes: review and case study of Wilson’s storm-petrel Quillfeldt, Petra McGill, Rona A.R. Furness, Robert W. 2005 application/pdf https://jlupub.ub.uni-giessen.de//handle/jlupub/271 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps2952955 https://doi.org/10.22029/jlupub-218 en eng https://doi.org/10.3354/meps2952955 https://jlupub.ub.uni-giessen.de//handle/jlupub/271 http://dx.doi.org/10.22029/jlupub-218 Stable isotopes Diet Foraging area Oceanites oceanicus Prey ddc:570 ddc:590 article 2005 ftunivgiessen https://doi.org/10.3354/meps295295510.22029/jlupub-218 2023-11-26T23:24:50Z Analysis of stable isotope ratios in animal tissues has emerged as a powerful tool for determining the trophic level and composition of prey and foraging location. We summarize here data on the stepwise trophic enrichment in δ15N and latitudinal gradient in δ13C in the Southern Ocean, and derive a regression equation to estimate latitudes from δ13C values. We analysed isotope ratios of feathers of the small, pelagic seabird Wilson’s storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus, in different breeding stages, in comparison to isotope ratios of 4 other seabird species breeding in close vicinity on King George Island, South Shetland Islands. δ15N analysis of feathers and albumen from Wilson’s storm-petrels indicated a shift in diet from mainly crustaceans during egg formation to an increased proportion of fish during chick-feeding and moulting. δ15N values of Wilson’s storm-petrels during the chick-rearing season were closer to the mainly piscivorous-carnivorous skuas than to krill-feeding penguins, confirming that fish is an important part of their diet. δ13C analysis of feathers identified 4 distinct foraging areas: δ13C values in egg-white suggest that egg-forming females moved south to the sea ice edge. This coincides with the distribution of their main prey, Antarctic krill Euphausia superba, during this period. During the breeding season, Wilson’s storm-petrels fed in the area around the colony, which is also used by penguins and skuas. δ13C of the feathers indicate that adults migrated to the Subtropical Front and beyond (north of 44°S) during the inter-breeding period. Feathers were also analysed from 10 Wilson’s storm-petrels caught by mistnet and thought to be prebreeders because they lacked foot markings; 8 of these had moulted in the same area as breeding birds, while 2 birds had moulted in an area further north (north of 30°S). Adélie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae and Gentoo penguins P. papua had significantly different δ13C, suggesting that the Adélie penguins foraged further south than the Gentoo penguins. The ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Euphausia superba King George Island Pygoscelis adeliae Sea ice South Shetland Islands Southern Ocean Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen: JLUpub Antarctic Southern Ocean King George Island South Shetland Islands |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen: JLUpub |
op_collection_id |
ftunivgiessen |
language |
English |
topic |
Stable isotopes Diet Foraging area Oceanites oceanicus Prey ddc:570 ddc:590 |
spellingShingle |
Stable isotopes Diet Foraging area Oceanites oceanicus Prey ddc:570 ddc:590 Quillfeldt, Petra McGill, Rona A.R. Furness, Robert W. Diet and foraging areas of Southern Ocean seabirds and their prey inferred from stable isotopes: review and case study of Wilson’s storm-petrel |
topic_facet |
Stable isotopes Diet Foraging area Oceanites oceanicus Prey ddc:570 ddc:590 |
description |
Analysis of stable isotope ratios in animal tissues has emerged as a powerful tool for determining the trophic level and composition of prey and foraging location. We summarize here data on the stepwise trophic enrichment in δ15N and latitudinal gradient in δ13C in the Southern Ocean, and derive a regression equation to estimate latitudes from δ13C values. We analysed isotope ratios of feathers of the small, pelagic seabird Wilson’s storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus, in different breeding stages, in comparison to isotope ratios of 4 other seabird species breeding in close vicinity on King George Island, South Shetland Islands. δ15N analysis of feathers and albumen from Wilson’s storm-petrels indicated a shift in diet from mainly crustaceans during egg formation to an increased proportion of fish during chick-feeding and moulting. δ15N values of Wilson’s storm-petrels during the chick-rearing season were closer to the mainly piscivorous-carnivorous skuas than to krill-feeding penguins, confirming that fish is an important part of their diet. δ13C analysis of feathers identified 4 distinct foraging areas: δ13C values in egg-white suggest that egg-forming females moved south to the sea ice edge. This coincides with the distribution of their main prey, Antarctic krill Euphausia superba, during this period. During the breeding season, Wilson’s storm-petrels fed in the area around the colony, which is also used by penguins and skuas. δ13C of the feathers indicate that adults migrated to the Subtropical Front and beyond (north of 44°S) during the inter-breeding period. Feathers were also analysed from 10 Wilson’s storm-petrels caught by mistnet and thought to be prebreeders because they lacked foot markings; 8 of these had moulted in the same area as breeding birds, while 2 birds had moulted in an area further north (north of 30°S). Adélie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae and Gentoo penguins P. papua had significantly different δ13C, suggesting that the Adélie penguins foraged further south than the Gentoo penguins. The ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Quillfeldt, Petra McGill, Rona A.R. Furness, Robert W. |
author_facet |
Quillfeldt, Petra McGill, Rona A.R. Furness, Robert W. |
author_sort |
Quillfeldt, Petra |
title |
Diet and foraging areas of Southern Ocean seabirds and their prey inferred from stable isotopes: review and case study of Wilson’s storm-petrel |
title_short |
Diet and foraging areas of Southern Ocean seabirds and their prey inferred from stable isotopes: review and case study of Wilson’s storm-petrel |
title_full |
Diet and foraging areas of Southern Ocean seabirds and their prey inferred from stable isotopes: review and case study of Wilson’s storm-petrel |
title_fullStr |
Diet and foraging areas of Southern Ocean seabirds and their prey inferred from stable isotopes: review and case study of Wilson’s storm-petrel |
title_full_unstemmed |
Diet and foraging areas of Southern Ocean seabirds and their prey inferred from stable isotopes: review and case study of Wilson’s storm-petrel |
title_sort |
diet and foraging areas of southern ocean seabirds and their prey inferred from stable isotopes: review and case study of wilson’s storm-petrel |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://jlupub.ub.uni-giessen.de//handle/jlupub/271 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps2952955 https://doi.org/10.22029/jlupub-218 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean King George Island South Shetland Islands |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean King George Island South Shetland Islands |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Euphausia superba King George Island Pygoscelis adeliae Sea ice South Shetland Islands Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Euphausia superba King George Island Pygoscelis adeliae Sea ice South Shetland Islands Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps2952955 https://jlupub.ub.uni-giessen.de//handle/jlupub/271 http://dx.doi.org/10.22029/jlupub-218 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps295295510.22029/jlupub-218 |
_version_ |
1786163491774660608 |