Jacob González-Solís

Trans-equatorial migration and mixing in the wintering areas of a pelagic seabird

Despite increasing interest in long-distance migration, the wintering areas, migration corridors, and population mix in winter quarters of most pelagic marine predators are unknown. Here, we present the first study tracking migration movements of shearwaters through the non-breeding period. We used geolocators (global location sensing [GLS] units based on ambient light levels) to track 22 Corys shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) breeding in three different areas. Most birds wintered in one or more of three relatively small areas, all clearly associated with major coastal upwelling systems of the tropical and south Atlantic. Trans-equatorial movements were dominated by prevailing trade winds and westerlies, while calm, oligotrophic areas were avoided. Breeding populations clearly differed in their preference amongst the three major wintering areas, but showed substantial mixing. This illustrates the exceptional value of GLS, not only for determining and describing the influence of oceanographic features o...

Trace me if you can: the use of intrinsic biogeochemical markers in marine top predators

Human activities have serious impacts on marine apex predators. Inadequate knowledge of the spatial and trophic ecology of these marine animals ultimately compromises the viability of their populations and impedes our ability to use them as environmental biomonitors. Intrinsic biogeochemical markers, such as stable isotopes, fatty acids, trace elements, and chemical pollutants, are increasingly being used to trace the spatial and trophic ecology of marine top predators. Notable advances include the emergence of the first oceanographic “isoscapes” (isotopic geographic gradients), the advent of compound-specific isotopic analyses, improvements in diet reconstruction through Bayesian statistics, and tissue analysis of tracked animals to ground-truth biogeochemical profiles. However, most researchers still focus on only a few tracers. Moreover, insufficient knowledge of the biogeochemical integration in tissues, fractionation and routing processes, and geographic and temporal variability in baseline levels co...

Ocean surface winds drive dynamics of transoceanic aerial movements.

Global wind patterns influence dispersal and migration processes of aerial organisms, propagules and particles, which ultimately could determine the dynamics of colonizations, invasions or spread of pathogens. However, studying how wind-mediated movements actually happen has been hampered so far by the lack of high resolution global wind data as well as the impossibility to track aerial movements. Using concurrent data on winds and actual pathways of a tracked seabird, here we show that oceanic winds define spatiotemporal pathways and barriers for large-scale aerial movements. We obtained wind data from NASA SeaWinds scatterometer to calculate wind cost (impedance) models reflecting the resistance to the aerial movement near the ocean surface. We also tracked the movements of a model organism, the Corys shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), a pelagic bird known to perform long distance migrations. Cost models revealed that distant areas can be connected through “wind highways” that do not match the shortest great circle routes. Bird routes closely followed the low-cost “wind-highways” linking breeding and wintering areas. In addition, we found that a potential barrier, the near surface westerlies in the Atlantic sector of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), temporally hindered meridional trans-equatorial movements. Once the westerlies vanished, birds crossed the ITCZ to their winter quarters. This study provides a novel approach to investigate wind-mediated movements in oceanic environments and shows that large-scale migration and dispersal processes over the oceans can be largely driven by spatiotemporal wind patterns.

Experimental increase of flying costs in a pelagic seabird: effects on foraging strategies, nutritional state and chick condition

A central point in life history theory is that parental investment in current reproduction should be balanced by the costs in terms of residual reproductive value. Long-lived seabirds are considered fixed investors, that is, parents fix a specific level of investment in their current reproduction independent to the breeding requirements. We tested this hypothesis analysing the consequences of an experimental increase in flying costs on the foraging ecology, body condition and chick condition in Cory’s shearwaters Calonectris diomedea. We treated 28 pairs by reducing the wing surface in one partner and compared them with 14 control pairs. We monitored mass changes and incubation shifts and tracked 19 foraging trips per group using geolocators. Furthermore, we took blood samples at laying, hatching and chick-rearing to analyse the nutritional condition, haematology, muscle damage and stable isotopes. Eighty-day-old chicks were measured, blood sampled and challenged with PHA immune assay. In addition, we analysed the effects of handicap on the adults at the subsequent breeding season. During incubation, handicapped birds showed a greater foraging effort than control birds, as indicated by greater foraging distances and longer periods of foraging, covering larger areas. Eighty-day-old chicks reared by treated pairs were smaller and lighter and showed a lower immunity than those reared by control pairs. However, oxygen demands, nutritional condition and stable isotopes did not differ between control and handicapped birds. Although handicapped birds had to increase their foraging effort, they maintained physical condition by reducing parental investment and transferred the experimentally increased costs to their partners and the chick. This result supports the fixed investment hypothesis and is consistent with life history theory.

GEOGRAPHIC ASSIGNMENT OF SEABIRDS TO THEIR ORIGIN: COMBINING MORPHOLOGIC, GENETIC, AND BIOGEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES

Longline fisheries, oil spills, and offshore wind farms are some of the major threats increasing seabird mortality at sea, but the impact of these threats on specific populations has been difficult to determine so far. We tested the use of molecular markers, morphometric measures, and stable isotope (delta15N and delta13C) and trace element concentrations in the first primary feather (grown at the end of the breeding period) to assign the geographic origin of Calonectris shearwaters. Overall, we sampled birds from three taxa: 13 Mediterranean Corys Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea diomedea) breeding sites, 10 Atlantic Corys Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea borealis) breeding sites, and one Cape Verde Shearwater (C. edwardsii) breeding site. Assignment rates were investigated at three spatial scales: breeding colony, breeding archipelago, and taxa levels. Genetic analyses based on the mitochondrial control region (198 birds from 21 breeding colonies) correctly assigned 100% of birds to the three main taxa but failed in detecting geographic structuring at lower scales. Discriminant analyses based on trace elements composition achieved the best rate of correct assignment to colony (77.5%). Body measurements or stable isotopes mainly succeeded in assigning individuals among taxa (87.9% and 89.9%, respectively) but failed at the colony level (27.1% and 38.0%, respectively). Combining all three approaches (morphometrics, isotopes, and trace elements on 186 birds from 15 breeding colonies) substantially improved correct classifications (86.0%, 90.7%, and 100% among colonies, archipelagos, and taxa, respectively). Validations using two independent data sets and jackknife cross-validation confirmed the robustness of the combined approach in the colony assignment (62.5%, 58.8%, and 69.8% for each validation test, respectively). A preliminary application of the discriminant model based on stable isotope delta15N and delta13C values and trace elements (219 birds from 17 breeding sites) showed that 41 Corys Shearwaters caught by western Mediterranean long-liners came mainly from breeding colonies in Menorca (48.8%), Ibiza (14.6%), and Crete (31.7%). Our findings show that combining analyses of trace elements and stable isotopes on feathers can achieve high rates of correct geographic assignment of birds in the marine environment, opening new prospects for the study of seabird mortality at sea.

Bias Associated with Diet Samples in Audouin's Gulls

We analyzed five different types of food samples from Audouins Gull (Larus audouinii), collected during the breeding seasons of 1994 and 1995 at its two main breeding colonies, the Ebro Delta and the Chafarinas Islands. These food samples included spontaneous regurgitates, dry boli containing partially digested food, food remains, pellets, and prey identified during direct observations of chick provisioning. We compared estimates of biomass, levels of taxonomic determination allowed by each kind of food sample, and the associated potential biases to assess which sampling method provides the best estimate of diet in gulls. Regurgitates allowed identification of most prey to species level and reliable biomass estimates, but their collection was time-consuming and invasive. Dry boli provided almost the same information as regurgitates at order level and were easy to collect. However, both underestimated soft-bodied prey and prey with large, hard parts. Food remains provided an estimate of diet composition that was highly biased towards prey with large distinctive hard parts. However, food remains were a good complement to dry boli, enhancing biomass estimates for food items that had a good relationship of weight and linear measurements of prey..hard parts. Direct observation allowed identification of prey only to upper taxonomic categories, and is useful when only a broad categorization of prey types is required. Pellets showed important biases towards fish with robust otoliths, and inaccurate conversion to biomass, but they can be useful for monitoring variations in the consumption of certain prey items. Several factors such as time spent collecting, sample availability, disturbance to animals, and the status of the species studied need to be considered when deciding on a method of diet assessment sampling.

Trophic niche width and overlap of two sympatric gulls in the southwestern mediterranean

Abstract The diets of two potential competitor species, Audouins Larus audouinii and yellow-legged gulls Larus cachinnans, were examined while they bred at the Chafarinas Islands during 1993, 1994, and 1995. Data were collected during two commercial fishing regimes: (1) trawling and purse seine fisheries, and (2) diurnal trawlers only. Since the food supply for the gulls in this area was heavily reliant on the activity of purse seine fisheries, these contrasting situations allowed us to analyze short-term effects, induced by daily changes in food supply, on niche width, dietary shift, and niche overlap between the two species. Overall, both species relied mainly on fish for food, especially Clupeiforms, in the case of Audouins gull irrespective of the fishing situation, and in the case of the yellow-legged gull, only when purse seine fishing was in operation. When purse seine boats did not operate (food shortage), yellow-legged gulls broadened their niche, consuming equal amounts of all the feeding resources, and they showed a dietary shift toward a greater consumption of prey from refuse tips. In contrast, Audouins gulls did not change their niche width, but showed a slight dietary shift away from the consumption of epipelagic fish, compensated by an increase in reliance on benthic-mesopelagic resources. Niche overlap was clearly higher on days when both fishing fleets operated, probably because a superabundant food resource facilitates high overlap without affecting coexistence between the two species. Since our study was developed on the basis of daily variations in food supply, and competition effects are to be expected on a longer-term basis, these changes can be seen as the outcome of the coexistence of two species in stable competitive equilibrium.

Foraging segregation between two closely related shearwaters breeding in sympatry

Trophic segregation has been proposed as a major mechanism explaining the coexistence of closely related animal taxa. However, how such segregation varies throughout the annual cycle is poorly understood. Here, we examined the feeding ecology of the two subspecies of Corys shearwater, Calonectris diomedea diomedea and Calonectris diomedea borealis, breeding in sympatry in a Mediterranean colony. To study trophic segregation at different stages, we combined the analysis of isotope values (δ 15N, δ 13C) in blood obtained during incubation and in feathers moulted during chick-rearing and wintering periods with satellite-tracking data during the chick-rearing period. Satellite-tracking and stable isotope data of the first primary feather revealed that C. d. borealis foraged mainly in the Atlantic whereas C. d. diomedea foraged exclusively in the Mediterranean. This spatial segregation could reflect the foraging behaviour of the C. d. borealis individuals before they arrived at the Mediterranean colony. Alternatively, greater wing loading of C. d. borealis individuals may confer the ability to fly across the strong winds occurring at the at the Gibraltar strait. Isotope values of the eighth secondary feather also support segregation in wintering areas between the two forms: C. d. diomedea wintered mainly in association with the Canary current, whereas C. d. borealis wintered in the South African coast. Overall, our results show that spatial segregation in foraging areas can display substantial variation throughout the annual cycle and is probably a major mechanism facilitating coexistence between closely related taxa.

Maternal antibody persistence: a neglected life-history trait with implications from albatross conservation to comparative immunology

The evolution of different life-history strategies has been suggested as a major force constraining physiological mechanisms such as immunity. In some long-lived oviparous species, a prolonged persistence of maternal antibodies in offspring could thus be expected in order to protect them over their long growth period. Here, using an intergenerational vaccination design, we show that specific maternal antibodies can display an estimated half-life of 25 days post-hatching in the nestlings of a long-lived bird. This temporal persistence is much longer than previously known for birds and it suggests specific properties in the regulation of IgY immunoglobulin catabolism in such a species. We also show that maternal antibodies in the considered procellariiform species are functional as late as 20 days of age. Using a modelling approach, we highlight that the potential impact of such effects on population viability could be important, notably when using vaccination for conservation. These results have broad implications, from comparative immunology to evolutionary eco-epidemiology and conservation biology.

Divorce and asynchronous arrival in common terns, Sterna hirundo.

We investigated which of three hypotheses (better option, incompatibility or asynchronous arrival) best explains divorce in the common tern. One partner did not return the next year in 18.5% of 150 pairs. Among the 106 pairs in which both mates returned, the divorce rate was 18.9%. We found no significant differences in: breeding performance or condition in relation to the probability of divorce; quality of previous mates and new mates, mean age in relation to pair bond status; breeding success before and after divorce nor did this differ from breeding success of reunited pairs. Hence the better option and incompatibility hypotheses were not supported. However, divorce was more likely in pairs in which mates arrived asynchronously on the breeding grounds, supporting the asynchronous arrival hypothesis. Median arrival asynchrony for divorced pairs was 7.5 days and for reunited pairs 2 days; mates arriving more than 16 days apart always split up. About 20% of divorced birds lost breeding status in the year of divorce, probably as a consequence of their late arrival. Our results suggest that terns search for a new mate as soon as they arrive on the breeding grounds and that mates remain faithful to each other to avoid the costs of searching for a new partner. Thus, synchrony in arrival facilitates pair bond maintenance rather than asynchrony promoting divorce, since divorce appears to be a side-effect of asynchrony and not an active decision. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.