Moult intensity in blue petrels and a key moult site off West Antarctica
Blue petrels (Halobaena caerulea Gmelin) rapidly moult their flight feathers in Antarctic waters in February–April, immediately following the breeding season, yet the behaviour of moulting birds at sea has not been described. We observed large numbers of moulting blue petrels off West Antarctica fro...
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Cambridge University Press
2020
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Online Access: | https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:2fb9381 |
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ftunivqespace:oai:espace.library.uq.edu.au:UQ:2fb9381 2023-05-15T13:59:53+02:00 Moult intensity in blue petrels and a key moult site off West Antarctica Ryan, Peter G. Lee, Jasmine R. Bouard, Fabrice Le 2020-02-01 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:2fb9381 unknown Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/s0954102019000427 issn:0954-1020 issn:1365-2079 orcid:0000-0003-3847-1679 Geology Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Oceanography Journal Article 2020 ftunivqespace https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102019000427 2020-11-03T01:54:18Z Blue petrels (Halobaena caerulea Gmelin) rapidly moult their flight feathers in Antarctic waters in February–April, immediately following the breeding season, yet the behaviour of moulting birds at sea has not been described. We observed large numbers of moulting blue petrels off West Antarctica from 67–71°S and 78–119°W in mid-February 2017. Most of these birds probably breed at the Diego Ramirez archipelago, southwest of Cape Horn, which is the closest colony to this area. Moulting petrels often sit on the water in dense flocks, just outside the marginal ice zone, at sea temperatures of -0.7 to 0.9°C. Wing moult is intense, with 7–8 inner primaries (62–75% of primary length and 55–69% of primary mass), their corresponding primary coverts and all greater secondary coverts being grown at the same time. Moulting petrels need a reliable food source during this energetically demanding period, so the waters off West Antarctica are probably crucial for the Diego Ramirez population, which makes up more than half of the world's blue petrels. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica West Antarctica The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace Antarctic Cape Horn ENVELOPE(-135.021,-135.021,61.583,61.583) Ramirez ENVELOPE(-56.683,-56.683,-63.583,-63.583) West Antarctica Antarctic Science 32 1 1 9 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivqespace |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Geology Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Geology Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Oceanography Ryan, Peter G. Lee, Jasmine R. Bouard, Fabrice Le Moult intensity in blue petrels and a key moult site off West Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Geology Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Oceanography |
description |
Blue petrels (Halobaena caerulea Gmelin) rapidly moult their flight feathers in Antarctic waters in February–April, immediately following the breeding season, yet the behaviour of moulting birds at sea has not been described. We observed large numbers of moulting blue petrels off West Antarctica from 67–71°S and 78–119°W in mid-February 2017. Most of these birds probably breed at the Diego Ramirez archipelago, southwest of Cape Horn, which is the closest colony to this area. Moulting petrels often sit on the water in dense flocks, just outside the marginal ice zone, at sea temperatures of -0.7 to 0.9°C. Wing moult is intense, with 7–8 inner primaries (62–75% of primary length and 55–69% of primary mass), their corresponding primary coverts and all greater secondary coverts being grown at the same time. Moulting petrels need a reliable food source during this energetically demanding period, so the waters off West Antarctica are probably crucial for the Diego Ramirez population, which makes up more than half of the world's blue petrels. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ryan, Peter G. Lee, Jasmine R. Bouard, Fabrice Le |
author_facet |
Ryan, Peter G. Lee, Jasmine R. Bouard, Fabrice Le |
author_sort |
Ryan, Peter G. |
title |
Moult intensity in blue petrels and a key moult site off West Antarctica |
title_short |
Moult intensity in blue petrels and a key moult site off West Antarctica |
title_full |
Moult intensity in blue petrels and a key moult site off West Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Moult intensity in blue petrels and a key moult site off West Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Moult intensity in blue petrels and a key moult site off West Antarctica |
title_sort |
moult intensity in blue petrels and a key moult site off west antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:2fb9381 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-135.021,-135.021,61.583,61.583) ENVELOPE(-56.683,-56.683,-63.583,-63.583) |
geographic |
Antarctic Cape Horn Ramirez West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Cape Horn Ramirez West Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica West Antarctica |
op_relation |
doi:10.1017/s0954102019000427 issn:0954-1020 issn:1365-2079 orcid:0000-0003-3847-1679 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102019000427 |
container_title |
Antarctic Science |
container_volume |
32 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
9 |
_version_ |
1766268811898519552 |