Movements of three alcid species breeding sympatrically in Saint Pierre and Miquelon, northwestern Atlantic Ocean

• Published in: Journal of Ornithology
• Main Authors: Delord, Karine, Barbraud, Christophe, Pinaud, David, Letournel, Bruno, Jaugeon, Baptiste, Goraguer, Herlé, Lazure, Pascal, Lormée, Hervé
• Other Authors: Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), ONCFS - Service départemental de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (ONCFS), Direction des Territoires de l’Alimentation et de la Mer-SAMP, Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), ONCFS
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: Distribution overlap; Animal movement; Behavioral models; Uria aalge; Alca torda; Fratercula arctica; Telemetry; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Atlantic salmon; fratercula; Newfoundland; uria
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02364745; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-019-01725-z

International audience Among seabirds, alcids are particularly sensitive to bycatch in fisheries and oil pollution, yet their distribution at sea remainsscarcely known in most of their breeding areas. GPS telemetry data of fifteen individuals of alcids (5 Razorbills 6 CommonMurres and 4 Puffins) were analyzed to determine their distribution during the breeding period of 2016 at Saint Pierre andMiquelon Archipelago (SPM). Two analytical methods (threshold and a switching state-space model) were used to identifybehavioral modes and foraging areas. We compared foraging movements and estimated the overlap between the species.Distribution and foraging covered an area located between SPM and Newfoundland. Our results revealed that the three speciesheaded northward of their breeding colony, targeting coastal waters. Nonetheless, the three species differed in their habitatdistribution as well as in their space-use sharing. There was limited overlap between the foraging zones of the three speciesand a gillnet fishery targeting Atlantic salmon. Identifying alcids habitat use is imperative to the successful management andsurvival of these marine species especially since the distribution areas coincide with fishing pressure.