Olfactory foraging in Antarctic seabirds:a species-specific attraction to krill odors

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 177:235-241 (1999) - doi:10.3354/meps177235 Olfactory foraging in Antarctic seabirds: a species-specific attraction to krill odors Gabrielle Nevitt* Section of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA *E-mail: ganevitt @ucdavis.edu ABSTRACT: Antarctic procellariiform seabirds are known for their well-developed sense of smell, yet few behavioral experiments have addressed how these birds use olfactory cues to forage at sea. I describe results from controlled, shipboard experiments performed in Antarctic waters near Elephant Island. Birds were presented with plain or krill-scented (Euphausia superba) vegetable oil slicks, and their behavioral responses were compared. Krill-scented vegetable oil slicks were highly attractive to some but not all procellariiform species foraging in this area (p < 0.001, G-test). Cape petrels Daption capense and southern giant petrels Macronectes giganteus appeared at krill-scented slicks within 1 min, whereas black-browed albatrosses Diomedea melanophris appeared within 3 min. Cape petrels D. capense showed the strongest attraction: these birds were observed as much as 5 times as frequently at krill-scented slicks as compared to unscented control slicks (p < 0.001, G-test), while storm-petrels (Oceanites oceanicus and Fregetta tropica) and Antarctic Fulmars Fulmarus glacialoides responded in equal numbers to krill-scented and unscented slicks. When considered with respect to previously published findings, these results suggest a greater complexity in the significance of odors to the foraging ecology of different tube-nosed species than has commonly been assumed. KEY WORDS: Procellariiform · Olfaction · Antarctica · Petrels · Seabirds · Foraging · Krill Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 177. Publication date: February 11, 1999 Print ISSN:0171-8630; Online ISSN:1616-1599 Copyright © 1999 Inter-Research.