BIBLIOS

Document type
Journal articles

Document subtype
Full paper

Title
Diet of non-breeding leach’s storm-petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous) in the sub-polar frontal zone of the North Atlantic

Participants in the publication
Silva MC (Author)
FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DA UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA
Centro de Ecologia, Evolução e Alterações Ambientais
Dep. Biologia Animal
cE3c
Catry P (Author)
Newton J (Author)
Nunes VL (Author)
Centro de Ecologia, Evolução e Alterações Ambientais
Wakefield EL (Author)

Summary
n order to understand the drivers of the distribution and abundance of pelagic seabirds it is necessary to know what they\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\neat, yet there remains little detailed, geo-referenced information on the diets of pelagic seabirds. In particular, due to sam-\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\npling difficulties, information is lacking for non-breeding stages, smaller species, such as storm-petrels, and remote oce-\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nanic areas, which may include important diversity hotspots. In this study, we aimed to characterize the trophic ecology of\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nLeach’s storm-petrels foraging in the vicinity of the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Seamount Marine Protected Area\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nusing a combination of survey methods. On a cruise undertaken in June 2017 to characterize the distribution and ecology\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nof seabirds in the region, nineteen Leach’s storm-petrels were caught, sampled and released unharmed. Regurgitations and\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nfaecal samples were collected, as well as blood and feather tissues for stable isotope analyses. Of the 12 males, 6 females\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nand 1 unsexed bird, 84% were in active flight feather moult, suggesting they were non-breeders. Prey species, assayed via\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nmolecular metabarcoding, were dominated by mesopelagic fish, principally lanternfishes (Myctophidae) and hatchetfishes\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n(Sternoptychidae), but also included cephalopods and crustaceans. Additionally, almost half of the birds had microplastics\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nin their regurgitates. Stable isotopic ratios did not differ significantly between sexes. Our results, combined with those\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nof previous studies, suggest that within the oceanic North Atlantic, Leach’s storm-petrels feed at a similar trophic level\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nto much larger seabirds, targeting mesopelagic fishes that are a key component of the North Atlantic pelagic food web.


Where published
Marine Biology

Publication Identifiers



Document Identifiers
DOI - https://doi.org/t10.1007/s00227-024-04469-4

Keywords
Leach’s storm-petrel · Hydrobates · NACES MPA · Diet · Metabarcoding · Non-breeding · Microplastics