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Feeding and foraging ecology of Trindade petrels Pterodroma arminjoniana during the breeding period in the South Atlantic Ocean

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Abstract

Seabirds breeding in tropical environments experience high energetic demands, when foraging in an oligotrophic environment. The globally threatened Trindade petrel Pterodroma arminjoniana has its largest colony in Trindade Island (20°30′S–29°19′W) inside the oligotrophic South Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. Diet sampling methods, geolocator tracking and stable isotope analysis were used to describe its diet, compare foraging trips and distributions, and assess temporal variations in the trophic niche throughout the breeding period. Diet consisted mainly of squid and fish. The high species diversity and wide range of prey sizes consumed suggests the use of multiple foraging techniques. Stable isotope mixing models confirm that Trindade petrels rely mainly on squid throughout the breeding period. Its broad isotopic niche seems to reflect both a diverse diet and foraging range, since birds can reach up to 3335 km from the colony. Isotopic niche showed limited variation even in an 8-year interval, apparently due to oceanographic stability, although changes in the isotopic niche have demonstrated an adjustment to different conditions in different seasons. Petrels change foraging areas and prey during the breeding period: pre-incubating birds use more productive areas west of Trindade Island and obtain low trophic position prey; incubating petrels perform longer trips southward to consume prey of high trophic position; and chick-rearing petrels use areas around the island. These results demonstrate that to deal with high demand breeding in a colony surrounded by oligotrophic waters, Trindade petrels need to explore wide foraging areas and utilize a diverse diet, besides adjusting trophic niche according to breeding stage.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Hudson T. Pinheiro for fish identification, Dr. Geoff Hancock for insect identification and Dr. Paul Kinas for help with statistics; Brazilian Navy and Comissão Interministerial para os Recursos do Mar (CIRM/SECIRM) by logistic support during sampling expeditions. We also thank Eduardo R. Secchi, Manuel Haimovici and Luciano Dalla Rosa for the revision and comments on the manuscript. This research is part of the PhD thesis written by G.R.L. under the guidance of L.B. and was authorized under the license number 22697-5 (SISBIO—Sistema de Autorização e Informação em Biodiversidade).

Funding

This project had been funded by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC-UK, Grant Number EK81-07/05) and the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq, Grants 557152/2009-7 and 405555/2012-1). G.R. Leal received financial support from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—CAPES (Ministry of Education). L. Bugoni received a Research Fellowship from CNPq (PQ 310550/2015-7).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Aves Aquáticas e Tartarugas Marinhas, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Campus Carreiros, Avenida Itália s/n, CP 474, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil

    Gustavo R. Leal & Leandro Bugoni

  2. College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Graham Kerr Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK

    Robert W. Furness

  3. NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility, Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride, G75 0QF, UK

    Rona A. R. McGill

  4. Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, CEPSUL – Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação da Biodiversidade Marinha do Sudeste e Sul, Avenida Vereador Carlos Ely Castro 195, Centro, Itajaí, SC, 88301-445, Brazil

    Roberta A. Santos

Authors
  1. Gustavo R. Leal
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  2. Robert W. Furness
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  3. Rona A. R. McGill
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  4. Roberta A. Santos
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  5. Leandro Bugoni
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Correspondence to Gustavo R. Leal.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants. All applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care of animals alive were followed. We did not conduct experiments with animals.

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Responsible Editor: V.H. Paiva.

Reviewed by J. A. Ramos and L. Krüger.

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Leal, G.R., Furness, R.W., McGill, R.A.R. et al. Feeding and foraging ecology of Trindade petrels Pterodroma arminjoniana during the breeding period in the South Atlantic Ocean. Mar Biol 164, 211 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3240-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3240-8

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