Differential responses of three sympatric seabirds to spatio-temporal variability in shared resources

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 468:291-301 (2012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09972 Differential responses of three sympatric seabirds to spatio-temporal variability in shared resources Philippe S. Sabarros1, Joël M. Durant1, David Grémillet2,3, Robert J. M. Crawford4,5, Nils Chr. Stenseth1,6,* 1Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway 2Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier, France 3Percy FitzPatrick Institute, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, and 5Animal Demography Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa 4Ocean and Coasts, Department of Environmental Affairs, PO Box 52126, Cape Town 8001, South Africa 6Institute of Marine Research, Flødevigen Marine Research Station, 4817 His, Norway *Email: n.c.stenseth@bio.uio.no ABSTRACT: Environmental change linked to climate and human activities may affect top predators via the food chain in marine systems. Understanding the functional link between resources and predator responses (e.g. foraging effort, reproductive success, population growth) is of crucial importance in the context of an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries. In the Benguela upwelling ecosystem located off the South African coast, both climate and overfishing may have modified the spatio-temporal availability of sardines and anchovies over the past 2 decades. These fish are prevalent prey items for 3 seabirds: the African penguin Spheniscus demersus, Cape gannet Morus capensis and Cape cormorant Phalacrocorax capensis. Species-specific responses of these 3 sympatric seabirds to the fluctuations in their shared prey are poorly understood. Here we used generalized additive modelling to examine the ‘local population response’ (i.e. number of breeders) of the 3 seabirds to spatio-temporal variations in prey availability from 1987 to 2007. We showed that prey fluctuations influence seabird local population responses, presumably by modulating recruitment, breeding decision and breeding performance. We also identified species-specific population responses to prey availability: positive in African penguins and Cape gannets, and null in Cape cormorants. These patterns could be explained by seabirds partitioning prey in time via separated breeding periods, and space via accessing different foraging grounds due to specific feeding techniques. These responses also suggest different degrees of dependency upon pelagic resources among predators, which are likely due to contrasting foraging ecologies (e.g. dietary plasticity, foraging techniques, foraging ranges). KEY WORDS: Population response · Prey fluctuations · Resource partitioning · Spheniscus demersus · Morus capensis · Phalacrocorax capensis · Benguela upwelling · South Africa Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousCite this article as: Sabarros PS, Durant JM, Grémillet D, Crawford RJM, Stenseth NC (2012) Differential responses of three sympatric seabirds to spatio-temporal variability in shared resources. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 468:291-301. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09972 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 468. Online publication date: November 14, 2012 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2012 Inter-Research.