United States

**Abstract:**

In colonial seabirds, ecological divergence may occur in the absence of physical barriers, driven by the isolation of populations due to distance, or the adaptation to local environment. In migratory seabirds, the geographic segregation among breeding populations can persist year round (i.e., strong migratory connectivity) when populations breeding separately do not mix outside the breeding area either, segregating in different non-breeding grounds. This migratory connectivity can exacerbate the isolation among populations, and thus influence the genetic structure among them. We have studied the non-breeding ecological niche and the migratory connectivity among 34 colonies of three Calonectris taxa, Scopoli&#39;s (C. diomedea), Cory&#39;s (C. borealis), and Cape Verde (C. edwardsii) shearwaters (805 breeding adults in total). To understand at what spatial scale migratory connectivity and preferences in non-breeding environment operate, and whether they are favouring ecological divergence among populations, we calculated migratory connectivity and non-breeding environmental niche at a colony, population and taxa level. To define populations, we grouped colonies in distance-based groups formed by the colonies that fell within buffers of increasing radius. At a taxa level, we found ecological segregation among the three taxa, with a clear spatial segregation between Scopoli&#39;s shearwaters and the other two taxa. At a colony level, we found low migratory connectivity among colonies of both Cory&#39;s and Scopoli&#39;s shearwaters, indicating high degree of individual mixing in the non-breeding areas. However, when we grouped the colonies in distance-based populations, the migratory connectivity increased, and differing environmental preferences appeared among populations, indicating the presence of some spatial structure at a population level. Our results agree with an ecological and evolutionary segregation among Cory&#39;s, Scopoli&#39;s and Cape Verde shearwaters, highlighting the role of migratory connectivity in the process of genetic divergence of populations across a landscape without physical barriers.

**Authors:**

Virginia Morera-Pujol¹, Paulo Catry², Maria Magalhães³, Clara Péron⁴, José Manuel Reyes-González⁵, José Pedro Granadeiro⁶, Teresa Militão⁵, Maria Dias⁷, Daniel Oro⁸, Giacomo Dell&#39;Omo⁹, Martina Müller¹⁰, Vítor Paiva¹¹, Benjamin Metzger¹², Verónica Neves¹³, Joan Navarro¹⁴, Georgios Karris¹⁵, Stavros Xirouchakis¹⁶, Jacopo Cecere¹⁷, Ángel Sallent¹⁸, Manuela Forero¹⁹, Fernanda de Felipe¹, Zuzana Zajková¹, Marta Cruz-Flores¹, David Grémillet²⁰, Jacob González-Solís¹, Raül Ramos¹

¹Universitat de Barcelona, ²ISPA-Instituto Universitário, ³Regional Secretariat for the Sea, Science and Technology, Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs (DRAM, ⁴Université de Montpellier, ⁵nstitut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio) and Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciè, ⁶Universidade de Lisboa, ⁷BirdLife International, ⁸IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) and Centre d&#39;Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CSIC), ⁹Ornis Italica, ¹⁰Nagoya University, ¹¹University of Coimbra, ¹²BirdLife Malta, ¹³Universidade das Azores, ¹⁴Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, ¹⁵Ionian University, ¹⁶University of Crete &amp; Natural History Museum of Crete, ¹⁷Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), ¹⁸University of Murcia, ¹⁹Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC, ²⁰University of Cape Town

3rd World Seabird Conference

Speciation and ecological divergence in three closely related shearwater taxa: insights from migratory connectivity and non-breeding habitat

Welcome Seabirders!  

Welcome to Virtual World Seabird Conference 3 - vWSC3! Whether you are in your office or lab, at home, in a coffee shop or bar poaching some wifi, or at a remote field site or research vessel – we are very excited to welcome you to the third ever World Seabird Conference. 

We would like to thank ALL of you for being so patient as WSC3 was scheduled, postponed, rescheduled, revised to virtual, and scheduled again. Throughout all those iterations there was one message that remained perfectly clear – seabirders were eager to meet and share their science. If we could not meet in person then virtual it would have to be, but a 3rd WSC was something everyone wanted. That support and commitment helped the WSU Board of Directors and Member Societies sort through all of the challenges they faced to plan and hold this conference. 

The list of those that need to be thanked is long and, while we plan on recognizing many during the live closing plenary, it is important to do so here in writing as well. 

The Australasian Seabird Group was our Local Host for our plan to meet in Hobart, Tasmania. They invested substantial time and effort to find venues and plan events that we unfortunately were not able to visit. Nonetheless we appreciate their work on behalf of WSC3 and encourage all of you to thank them when you see their members in Gathertown or elsewhere during our virtual meeting. Their willingness to host created the initial excitement for WSC3 and without that our vWSC would not have been possible.

We also wish to thank the Science Program Committee, the Virtual Committee, and the Early Career Scientist Committee for their hard work planning the logistics, events, and schedule for vWSC3. These committees also had to deal with changing parameters and short timelines that made what is always a challenging task even more challenging. The Travel Awards Committee also invested time and effort in developing procedures for awarding travel funds that ultimately would not be implemented. 

Our ability to shift from an in-person to a virtual meeting, and to do so in a way that would be financially feasible, was due to the effective efforts of The International Fundraising Committee and to our financial sponsors. The IFC raised funds to support WSC3 and then, through the good relationships they built with sponsors, ensured we could re-envision how those funds could be used to support a virtual conference that would be affordable and high-quality.

We all owe the WSU Board of Directors and the Representatives of the Member Societies a great deal of thanks. They are the ones who manage the WSU and, for the past 18 months, have had to have a series of challenging meetings and conversations, have had to make a series of difficult choices, have had to do all of that while considering the short- and long-term health of WSU and the World Seabird Conferences, and did this while also managing their own challenges at their day jobs. We are grateful for their diligence, patience, foresight, and throughout all of the meetings, their collegiality. Also – a 6-year term is quite a commitment!

There would not be a WSC3 without a successful WSC1 and WSC2. Thanks go to the Pacific Seabird Group for their support of WSC1 in Victoria, Canada, and to the African Seabird Group for their support of WSC2 in Cape Town, South Africa. In each of these endeavors and for our current conference we were fortunate to work with a dependable and trustworthy partner in Podium Conferences. Michelle Smith and Marischal de Armond have become valued members of our team and have not only helped us plan conferences but have assisted and advised the WSU Chairs and Board on issues above and beyond conference planning. 

As we embark on our vWSC3 week we extend to all of you our thanks for showing up, for being patient, and most importantly for the work you do with seabirds. We are all part of a unique, global community that shares an interest, a fascination, and a passion for birds that make a living in our world’s oceans. We have advanced the science, conservation, and management of seabirds as well the ecosystems they inhabit. We are consistently impressed and motivated by the work you do. 

The WSU formed in 2010 because we saw the need for a global organization to address challenges at a global level. Over the past 11 years WSU has grown, adapted, and evolved to become the community that this week is making vWSC3 a reality. Enjoy the week, appreciate and support the friends and colleagues you have made in the community, and if you see us in a virtual hallway please stop and say hello! 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve all of you and the WSU over the past few years,

Nicholas Carlile, Interim Chair, WSU<br>
Patrick Jodice, 2nd Chair of the WSU<br><br>

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Join us for four days of science, networking and virtual engagement with delegates from around the world!

**Abstract:**

In colonial seabirds, ecological divergence may occur in the absence of physical barriers, driven by the isolation of populations due to distance, or the adaptation to local environment. In migratory seabirds, the geographic segregation among breeding populations can persist year round (i.e., strong migratory connectivity) when populations breeding separately do not mix outside the breeding area either, segregating in different non-breeding grounds. This migratory connectivity can exacerbate the isolation among populations, and thus influence the genetic structure among them. We have studied the non-breeding ecological niche and the migratory connectivity among 34 colonies of three Calonectris taxa, Scopoli's (C. diomedea), Cory's (C. borealis), and Cape Verde (C. edwardsii) shearwaters (805 breeding adults in total). To understand at what spatial scale migratory connectivity and preferences in non-breeding environment operate, and whether they are favouring ecological divergence among populations, we calculated migratory connectivity and non-breeding environmental niche at a colony, population and taxa level. To define populations, we grouped colonies in distance-based groups formed by the colonies that fell within buffers of increasing radius. At a taxa level, we found ecological segregation among the three taxa, with a clear spatial segregation between Scopoli's shearwaters and the other two taxa. At a colony level, we found low migratory connectivity among colonies of both Cory's and Scopoli's shearwaters, indicating high degree of individual mixing in the non-breeding areas. However, when we grouped the colonies in distance-based populations, the migratory connectivity increased, and differing environmental preferences appeared among populations, indicating the presence of some spatial structure at a population level. Our results agree with an ecological and evolutionary segregation among Cory's, Scopoli's and Cape Verde shearwaters, highlighting the role of migratory connectivity in the process of genetic divergence of populations across a landscape without physical barriers.

**Authors:**

Virginia Morera-Pujol¹, Paulo Catry², Maria Magalhães³, Clara Péron⁴, José Manuel Reyes-González⁵, José Pedro Granadeiro⁶, Teresa Militão⁵, Maria Dias⁷, Daniel Oro⁸, Giacomo Dell'Omo⁹, Martina Müller¹⁰, Vítor Paiva¹¹, Benjamin Metzger¹², Verónica Neves¹³, Joan Navarro¹⁴, Georgios Karris¹⁵, Stavros Xirouchakis¹⁶, Jacopo Cecere¹⁷, Ángel Sallent¹⁸, Manuela Forero¹⁹, Fernanda de Felipe¹, Zuzana Zajková¹, Marta Cruz-Flores¹, David Grémillet²⁰, Jacob González-Solís¹, Raül Ramos¹

¹Universitat de Barcelona, ²ISPA-Instituto Universitário, ³Regional Secretariat for the Sea, Science and Technology, Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs (DRAM, ⁴Université de Montpellier, ⁵nstitut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio) and Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciè, ⁶Universidade de Lisboa, ⁷BirdLife International, ⁸IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) and Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CSIC), ⁹Ornis Italica, ¹⁰Nagoya University, ¹¹University of Coimbra, ¹²BirdLife Malta, ¹³Universidade das Azores, ¹⁴Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, ¹⁵Ionian University, ¹⁶University of Crete & Natural History Museum of Crete, ¹⁷Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), ¹⁸University of Murcia, ¹⁹Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC, ²⁰University of Cape Town

symposium

**Abstract:**

Industrialization is responsible of the release of tons of toxic compounds in the environment, which became imbedded into food webs worldwide, and numerous studies have reported effects on legacy persistent organic pollutants (chlorinated POPs, ex: DDT, PCB) on wildlife. In contrast, the effects of poly-and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have received less attention. PFAS cover more than 4,700 substances and are surface-active agents used in many products (non-stick cookware, fire-fighting foams, waterproof clothing). Transported over long distances, these highly persistent and bioaccumulative pollutants are now ubiquitous. As apex predators, seabirds are relevant bioindicators for PFAS contamination of the marine environment and there is a need to monitor PFAS across a large range of habitats, to better understand the global distribution of these substances. Among PFAS, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) has been banned under the Stockholm Convention on POPs. However, the vast majority of PFAS are not regulated yet and some are increasingly detected in seabirds. PFAS exposure is known to be associated with several toxicological effects in humans and laboratory models but the consequences of PFAS exposure for wildlife remain overall poorly investigated. In this talk, we will present studies conducted in Svalbard, Antarctica and continental France and which give new insight into the effects of PFAS exposure on seabirds. Specifically, we show that, PFAS can affect several key physiological mechanisms (thyroid hormones, glucocorticoids, prolactin, basal metabolic rate, oxidative stress). Compared to legacy chlorinated POPs, PFAS often act in the opposite way on physiology and behavior. Finally, we will present the very first data on the effect of PFAS contamination on seabird sperm quality and discuss the possible mechanisms involved. Further research on the occurrence and effects of PFAS is needed to provide evidence-based information for policy and regulatory decisions relevant to seabird conservation.

**Authors:**

Olivier Chastel¹, Pierre Blévin², Ségolène Humann Guilleminot³, Fabrice Helfenstein¹, Sabrina Tartu¹, Frédéric Angelier¹, Manrico Sebastiano¹, David Costantini⁴, Scott Shaffer⁵, Paco Bustamante⁶, Pierre Labadie¹, Hélène Budzinski¹, Dorte Herzke⁷, Børge Moe⁸, Jan Ove Bustnes⁹, Geir Wing Gabrielsen¹⁰

¹CNRS, ²Akvaplan niva AS, ³Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecophysiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, ⁴uséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, ⁵San José State University, ⁶University La Rochelle, ⁷NILU, ⁸NINA, ⁹NIA, ¹⁰NPI

Contaminants of growing concern: Poly- and Perfluoroalkylated Substances (PFAS) and their physiological consequences in seabirds

**Abstract:**

Presently, inter-annual variability in sea ice dynamics is increasing in Arctic regions. Sea ice dynamics, such as the timing of ice-melt and sea ice extent, highly influence trophic dynamics in marine Arctic systems, leading to changes in the abundance and distribution of fish and invertebrates. Thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) - a pursuit diving seabird that preys upon pelagic fish, benthic fish, and invertebrates - are thus expected to be negatively impacted by shifts in marine Arctic community structure. As such foraging behaviour, including the decision to balance self-feeding and chick-provisioning, will be influenced by environmental conditions, and mediated by either adult or chick body condition. In a low ice year, associated with reduced food availability, adults may choose to maximize self-feeding to maintain adult condition, while reducing chick provisioning at the cost of chick condition. Alternatively, adults may maintain or increase chick-provisioning to maximize chick condition, while reducing self-feeding at the cost of adult condition. To investigate the impact of environmental conditions on resource allocation decisions in this system we fitted adult murres with GPS accelerometers during the incubation and chick-rearing periods at Coats Island, Nunavut, Canada in 2018 and 2019. To assess the success of foraging trips for adult energetic condition we blood sampled murres before/after GPS deployments to measure energetic hormones (corticosterone), metabolites (non-esterified fatty acids, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and triglycerides), and stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N). To assess the success of foraging trips for chick energetic condition, we conducted feeding watches to identify prey types and chick-provisioning rates. By determining how variation in environmental conditions impacts resource allocation decisions, we can predict how breeding success and ultimately fitness will be impacted in rapidly changing Arctic ecosystems.

**Authors:**

Alyssa Eby¹, Allison Patterson², Kyle Elliott², H. Grant Gilchrist³, Oliver Love¹

¹University of Windsor, ²McGill University, ³Environment and Climate Change Canada

Resource allocation of a deep-diving Arctic seabird, the thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia), in response to sea-ice variation during the chick-rearing period

**Abstract:**

Albatrosses are well known to be attracted to vessels, but whether it is an innate behaviour, or a behaviour which develops with experience and age is not known. We studied this question in wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) in the Indian Ocean by combining the AIS (Automatic Identification System) data with fine-scale GPS tracking data, obtained through the Ocean Sentinel program, from juvenile, immature, adult and old birds fitted with loggers detecting the presence and locating vessels. We show that attraction and attendances of albatrosses changed extensively with age and differed between vessel types. Fishing vessels were more attractive than other vessels to birds, and juveniles both encountered fewer vessels, and were less attracted to these than adults but this attraction built during the immature phases. We discuss the implication of these results for the conservation of this threatened species.

**Authors:**

Henri Weimerskirch¹, Julien Collet¹, Alexandre Corbeau¹, Dominique Filippi², Adrien Pajot¹, Samantha Patrick³

¹CNRS, ²Sextant Technologies, ³University of Liverpool

Change with age in the attraction and attendance to vessels of wandering albatrosses: conservation implications

**Abstract:**

The world seabird community is declining globally, and seabird-fishery interactions have been identified as a significant cause of this general trend. It is therefore important and urgent to better understand the spatio-temporal determinants of such interactions. Historically, those have been extensively studied using at-sea observations and dietary studies. More recently, bird-borne devices allowed tracking seabird behaviour over time, but it is challenging to identify seabird-fisheries interactions exclusively from those movement data. Fortunately, bird-borne videos have brought invaluable information on the subject, enabling to directly observe the surroundings of ocean wanderers. Yet, the analysis of video data is extremely time-consuming. Using combined deployments of GPS and video cameras, we aimed at identifying specific movement patterns (GPS data) associated with seabird-fisheries interactions (as observed from video). If such patterns can be automatically identified, the routine can then be widely applied to similar datasets comprising only movement data. We deployed GPS recorders and cameras on 37 northern gannets (Morus bassanus) foraging in the English Channel from 2011 to 2015. In addition, 185 gannets from the same breeding colony were equipped with GPS only across 2005-2019. Using statistical and modelling procedures, we analysed the fine scale foraging movements of gannets interacting with fisheries to identify specific movement patterns associated with seabird-fisheries interactions. The classification model was then applied to all GPS-tracked Northern gannets to detect and map the spatio-temporal dynamics of gannet-fishery interactions in the English Channel across 2005-2019. Overall, our analysis provides a long-term perspective on seabird-fishery interactions in one of the most anthropized seas of the planet, and we propose a general methodology to help reach a better understanding of seabirds/fisheries interactions worldwide.

**Authors:**

David Grémillet¹, Amélie Lescroël¹, Andréa Thiebault², Jérôme Fort¹, Pascal Provost³, Akinori Takahashi⁴, Clara Péron⁵

¹CNRS, ²NMMU, ³LPO, ⁴National Institute of Polar Research, ⁵MNHN

Identifying seabird interactions with fisheries from GPS tracks: Automatic classification validated using bird-borne video recordings

**Abstract:**

Breeding at the right place is essential for seabirds to ensure a compromise between access to the resources, being safe from predation and deal with local weather. A challenge in ecology is to predict the demographic responses of populations in a context of climate change. Understanding demographic differences between multiple populations or colonies is central to determining some of the underlying mechanisms that drive these responses. Variability in population responses occur at large spatial scales, and studies have already shown different demographic strategies between several sites, but this understanding remains fragmentary and insufficient. However, on small spatial scales, analyzes between several nearby colonies have rarely been conducted, neglecting direct weather effects of other local effects. Here, we estimated the demographic parameters between several seabird colonies at different spatial scales and then assessed the differences in the demographic responses of these populations to environmental variations. We used individual monitoring data from three nearby colonies of snow petrel to investigate small-scale differences. To investigate the large-scale differences, we used two distant populations of closely related marine predators with similar ecological requirements, the south polar skua and the brown skua. Using capture-mark-recapture models, we estimated the survival and reproductive performance of each species at different sites. Our results show that breeding performance can vary both on large and small spatial scales. In addition, for snow petrels, local weather conditions may affect colonies differently resulting in different demographic responses. Very few studies have taken into account spatial heterogeneity when studying seabird population responses and generally make inferences from a single study site. To draw general conclusions about these responses, it is necessary to study in more detail, on several sites, a greater number of species in marine ecosystems.

**Authors:**

Christophe Sauser¹, Nathan Pacoureau², Karine Delord¹, Christophe Barbraud¹

¹CNRS - Centre d'étude biologique de Chizé, ²Simon Fraser University

The role of multi-colony studies in understanding seabird demography

**Abstract:**

Demographic rates such as recruitment and survival probability can vary considerably among populations of the same species, possibly due to spatially auto-correlated environmental processes. Breeding populations and foraging ranges are spatially segregated in colonial seabirds, making them ideal to study spatial patterns in demographic rates and their effects on local population dynamics. We investigated differences in age-dependent survival rates of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) breeding along the Dutch North Sea coast and we explored variation in survival among colonies in the context of their spatial distribution in the Netherlands. Between 1986 and 1988, per year approximately 100 nearly fledged individuals in 12-14 colonies received a unique colour ring, and birds have been resighted up until 2019 when at least one bird is known to be alive. We assessed whether survival until recruitment or until ten years old (their expected lifespan) explained variation in population trajectories of each colony. Juvenile and adult survival showed a strong, but different, north-to-south gradient in survival probability, while the spatial pattern of immature survival was less distinct. Recruitment nor the proportion of 10-year-old adults alive predicted whether a colony collapsed, declined, remained stable or increased. The distinct spatial pattern in survival suggests variation in regional food availability, which do not seem to drive local population dynamics. The absence of a link between survival and colony trajectories implies that connectivity between populations plays an important role affecting population dynamics.

**Authors:**

Rosemarie Kentie¹, Judy Shamoun-Baranes², Arie Spaans³, Kees Camphuysen⁴

¹University of Amsterdam & Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research NIOZ, ²University of Amsterdam, ³retired from Wageningen Environmental Research ? WUR, ⁴Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research NIOZ

Age-dependent survival of Herring Gulls across 14 contrasting colonies

**Abstract:**

How will seabirds populations respond to climate variability and change? Can the dependence of seabirds populations on environmental conditions be quantified to enable future projections? Comparing seabird population dynamics and their response to environmental conditions across several locations provides a powerful means to assess the environmental characteristics defining the habitat suitability and the mechanisms driving year-to-year population fluctuations. First, we will introduce a conceptual model to decompose annual population growth rate at each site into two distinct components: the mean growth rate at the site and annual deviations from that mean. The functional dependence of the long-term population growth rate on mean climate state describes the habitat suitability curve, i.e. the environmental conditions under which populations can maintain positive mean growth rates and hence viable habitat conditions. Importantly, it enables understanding contrasting trends and responses to environmental variability of seabirds across species range. In addition, interannual variations in population growth rates at each site are likely dependent on variations in climate. This functional dependence may differ at each site, and conceptually depends on the habitat suitability curve. Second, we will applied this approach to Adélie penguin spatio-temporal responses to sea ice. This framework can be applied to any seabirds species for which time series of population abundance are available at several sites, providing an unprecedented opportunity to advance our fundamental understanding of seabird responses to climate change.

**Authors:**

David Iles¹, Heather Lynch², Rubao Ji¹, Christophe Barbraud³, Karine Delord³, Marika Holland⁴, Matthew Long⁴

¹WHOI, ²Stony Brook University, ³CEBC/CNRS, ⁴NCAR

Understanding the spatio-temporal seabird population responses to climate change.

**Abstract:**

The grey-faced petrel Pterodroma gouldi is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. Although not threatened overall, this species is only abundant at a few sites, and in very small declining populations at most other sites. Causes for decline can be varied, but are generally introduced mammal predation or changes in oceanographic conditions. Independently of predation, marked variation in chick development and breeding success has been observed among colonies, particularly between those located along the East and the West coasts, and among years. We investigated the role played by adult foraging strategy, oceanographic conditions and predation in the variation of these breeding performances. East coast colonies were monitored for breeding performances during the 2011, 2012 and 2015 breeding seasons. Both East and West coast colonies were monitored for breeding success and chick development as well as for adult foraging strategy during the 2013 and 2014 breeding seasons. We deployed GPS devices to identify foraging areas, determined the frequency of chick feeding and adult foraging trip duration, and evaluated trophic position by stable isotope analyses of adult and chick diet and their prey. We found that grey-faced petrels breeding on the East coast tended to travel further from their breeding ground to feed, foraging for a longer period and thus fed their chicks less frequently. Stable isotope analyses revealed different δ15N and δ13C values between East and West coast breeders suggesting the use of different trophic levels and foraging habitats during chick rearing. Oceanographic conditions affected chick growth while predation by introduced mammals strongly impacted breeding success. An understanding of seabird diet and foraging strategy informs their conservation and management, as monitoring seabird trophic niche dimensions, foraging areas and reproductive parameters can reveal causes for population declines.

**Authors:**

Karen Bourgeois¹, Jemma Welch², Sylvain Dromzée³, Rob Dunn⁴, Megan Friesen⁵, Matt Rayner⁶, Graeme Taylor², James Russell⁴

¹Expertise Conservation des Oiseaux Marins et de la Biodiverité Insulaire (ECOMBI), ²Department of Conservation, ³Office Français de la Biodiversité, ⁴University of Auckland, ⁵Saint Martin's University, ⁶Auckland Museum

Spatio-temporal variation in chick growth and breeding success in the grey-faced petrel Pterodroma gouldi

**Abstract:**

Disentangling the roles of different intrinsic and environmental factors in driving seabird population changes in a large-scale perspective is highly important in a rapidly changing world. For seabirds such studies are rare. Finding the main drivers behind adult survival and population change, are important since many seabird species are threatened. Unravelling the role of different factors of climate change, such as ocean warming and associated shifts in prey availability, and extreme weather and storms events which are known to cause mass mortality, and thus represent an additional and potentially growing threat given the predicted increase in the frequency of such events are also important. Yet, there may be remarkable variation among populations in terms of how climate is having an effect due to spatio-temporal variation in the birds' distribution as well as the physical effects of climate change. As a consequence, the demographic traits that drive population changes may vary among populations. In this study we combine demographic (productivity and survival rates) and population trend data from nine North-Atlantic puffin colonies from the UK, Iceland and Norway with parallel data on environmental conditions in order to identify key drivers of population changes. Information from the seabird tracking programme SEATRACK was used to identify key non-breeding areas for each of the study colonies, enabling environmental covariates likely to be associated with overwinter survival (storm tracks, SST, large-scale climate indices and oceanographic factors) to be extracted for each population. We used multi-state CMR analysis, LTRE analysis and population modelling, to reveal some key ecological processes that underpin the relationship between puffins and their environment. Understanding these relationships is crucial when assessing how and where management actions could be put in place, and should be maintained as an integrated part of our knowledge base to support the future management of threatened seabirds.

**Authors:**

Tone Kristin Reiertsen¹

¹Norwegian Institute for Nature Research

The impact of demographic and environmental drivers on the Atlantic puffin populations: a multi-colony perspective

**Abstract:**

The way in which demographic rates fluctuate synchronously across spatially disjunct populations can have important consequences for the long-term persistence of metapopulations and can also be used to infer drivers of population dynamics. Here, we examined spatial patterns of synchrony in the breeding success of black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla in the UK, making use of time series from multiple colonies spanning three decades. We found that the strength of breeding success synchrony declined with distance between colonies, but also that some groups of colonies formed spatially coherent clusters in which breeding success fluctuated in unison. Furthermore, the spatial patterns of synchrony we identified aligned well with the spatial structure of the kittiwake's main prey in this region - the lesser sandeel Ammodytes marinus. This thus suggests that the spatially independent and disparate dynamics of sandeel subpopulations filter up to the level of kittiwakes, with important consequences for kittiwake demography. The study shows that examining spatial patterns of multi-colony synchrony in demographic rates can provide useful information for identifying environmental drivers as well as the spatial scale over which they are acting, improving our understanding of dynamics both at the scale of individual and multiple colonies.

**Authors:**

Agnes Olin¹, Neil Banas², Peter Wright³, Michael Heath², Ruedi Nager⁴

¹Stockholm University, ²University of Strathclyde, ³Marine Scotland Science, ⁴University of Glasgow

Speciation and ecological divergence in three closely related shearwater taxa: insights from migratory connectivity and non-breeding habitat

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Speciation and ecological divergence in three closely related shearwater taxa: insights from migratory connectivity and non-breeding habitat

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Contaminants of growing concern: Poly- and Perfluoroalkylated Substances (PFAS) and their physiological consequences in seabirds

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The importance of multi-colony and multi-species studies for seabird conservation

Stay up to date with the latest Underline news!

PRESENTATIONS

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COMPANY

RESOURCES

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