Spring phenology shapes the spatial foraging behavior of Antarctic petrels

• Published in: Marine Ecology Progress Series
• Main Authors: Fauchald, Per, Tarroux, Arnaud, Tveraa, Torkild, Cherel, Yves, Ropert‐coudert, Yan, Kato, Akiko, Love, Oliver P., Varpe, Øystein, Descamps, Sébastien
• Other Authors: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Norvegian Polar Research Institute (NPRI), Norwegian Polar Institute, Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor Ca, Akvaplan-Niva Tromsø, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2017
• Subjects: Area-restricted search; Euphausia superba; Marginal ice zone; Phytoplankton biomass; Procellariiformes; Sea ice dynamics; Southern Ocean; Thalassoica antarctica; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Antarctic; Gam; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Krill; Antarctic Petrel; Antarctica; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01501574; https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12082

International audience In polar seas, the seasonal melting of ice triggers the development of an open-waterecosystem characterized by short-lived algal blooms, the grazing and development of zooplankton,and the influx of avian and mammalian predators. Spatial heterogeneity in the timing of icemelt generates temporal variability in the development of these events across the habitat, offeringa natural framework to assess how foraging marine predators respond to the spring phenology.We combined 4 yr of tracking data of Antarctic petrels Thalassoica antarctica with synopticremote-sensing data on sea ice and chlorophyll a to test how the development of melting ice andprimary production drive Antarctic petrel foraging. Cross-correlation analyses of first-passagetime revealed that Antarctic petrels utilized foraging areas with a spatial scale of 300 km. Theseareas changed position or disappeared within 10 to 30 d and showed no spatial consistency amongyears. Generalized additive model (GAM) analyses suggested that the presence of foraging areaswas related to the time since ice melt. Antarctic petrels concentrated their search effort in meltingareas and in areas that had reached an age of 50 to 60 d from the date of ice melt. We found nosignificant relationship between search effort and chlorophyll a concentration. We suggest thatthese foraging patterns were related to the vertical distribution and profitability of the main prey,the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba. Our study demonstrates that the annual ice melt in theSouthern Ocean shapes the development of a highly patchy and elusive food web, underscoringthe importance of flexible foraging strategies among top predators.