**Abstract:**

Bird migration is commonly defined as a seasonal movement between breeding and wintering grounds. It is generally assumed to involve relatively straight and directed movement stretches, often with a latitudinal change, and characteristic daily activity patterns comprising less or no foraging and more traveling time. In addition, the spatial scale of movement is one order of magnitude larger during migratory stretches than during stationary periods. Here, our main objective was to test how well those statements apply to seabirds. Our first goal was to separate migratory stretches from stationary periods. Based on this characterization of the movements during the wintering period, our second goal was to compare the migration tactics between species and colonies. To this end, we used an extensive light-logger geolocator-based positional dataset on six pelagic seabird species (northern fulmar, common guillemot, Brünnich's guillemot, little auk, Atlantic puffin, black-legged kittiwake) from 29 colonies of the North-East Atlantic and several years, tracked as part of the SEATRACK project. Migratory stretches were identified based on track characteristics (movement rate, latitude, longitude). Additionally, we used the data obtained from conductivity sensors integrated to each light-logger to infer time spent flying, and when possible resting and foraging. During the non-breeding season, the six species had, on average, three to four migratory stretches and two to three distinct stationary periods. On average, tracked individuals spent the winter at lower latitudes than their breeding sites and followed specific migration routes rather than non-directionally dispersing from their colonies. Differences in daily activity patterns were small between migratory and stationary periods, suggesting that all species continued to forage and rest while migrating. Such a migratory strategy can be qualified as a "fly-and-forage". Our results show the importance of habitats visited during seabird migrations. Those habitats are not just flown over, but may be important for re-fuelling.

**Authors:**

Françoise Amélineau¹, Benjamin Merkel¹, Arnaud Tarroux², Sébastien Descamps¹, Tycho Anker-Nilssen², Oskar Bjørnstad³, Vegard Bråthen², Olivier Chastel⁴, Signe Christensen-Dalsgaard², Johannis Danielsen⁵, Francis Daunt⁶, Nina Dehnhard², Morten Ekker⁷, Kjell Einar Erikstad², Alexey Ezhov⁸, Per Fauchald², Maria Gavrilo⁹, Gunnar Hallgrímsson¹⁰, Erpur Hansen¹¹, Mike Harris¹², Morten Helberg¹³, Hálfdán Helgason¹⁴, Malin Johansen¹, Jon Jónsson¹⁵, Yann Kolbeinsson¹⁶, Yuri Krasnov⁸, Magdalene Langset², Svein-Håkon Lorentsen², Erlend Lorentzen¹, Mikhail Melnikov¹⁷, Børge Moe², Mark Newell¹², Bergur Olsen⁵, Tone Reiertsen², Geir Systad², Paul Thompson¹⁸, Thorkell Thorarinsson¹⁹, Ekaterina Tolmacheva²⁰, Sarah Wanless¹², Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas²¹, Jens Åström², Hallvard Strøm¹

¹Norwegian Polar Institute, ²Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, ³Karmøy Ringmerkingsgruppe, ⁴Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé. CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, ⁵Faroe Marine Research Institute, ⁶Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, ⁷Norwegian Environmental Agency, ⁸Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, ⁹National Park Russian Arctic/Association Maritime Heritage, ¹⁰Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, ¹¹South Iceland Nature Centre, ¹²UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, ¹³University of Oslo, ¹⁴Náttúrustofa Austurlands, East Iceland Nature Research Centre, ¹⁵University of Iceland?s Research Centre at Snæfellsnes, ¹⁶Northeast Iceland Nature Research Centre, ¹⁷Lipetsk State Pedagogical University, ¹⁸University of Aberdeen, ¹⁹Northeast Iceland Nature Research Center, ²⁰Kandalaksha State Nature Reserve, ²¹University of Gdansk

How do seabird migrations differ from other bird migrations? An assessment on six pelagic species of the North Atlantic

**Session Replay:** [Click here](https://zoom.us/rec/share/UuaYXYY6WXj71It41I8Fsta18oo1NPKZ2irv1hM9e22xrqqszrH5rgjEEMCcKyg.n4n6lG0l3JIL5w1Q?startTime=1633521080000)<br><br>

<i>**Session Chairs: **Francis Daunt, Richard Phillips, Sue Lewis</i><br><br> 
**Session Description:**<br>Research on seabird ecology has demonstrated remarkable variation among species and populations due to differences in intrinsic processes and environmental conditions. As a result, it has been challenging to unravel key ecological processes that underpin the relationship between seabirds and their environment, which has hampered our ability to make accurate forecasts of future population change. A powerful way of identifying key ecological processes is to undertake studies at multiple colonies or populations. Over the last decade, there has been a marked increase in this approach in a range of fields including population and foraging dynamics, including the first formal meta-analyses, providing robust insights into fundamental relationships. This symposium will showcase the latest research in this fast moving and critically important field.<br>

Symposium 3 - Unravelling fundamental processes in seabird ecology: The role of multi-colony studies IV

symposium

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>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rCc-s9eu6og" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JOLEP6uTMuc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>



3rd World Seabird Conference

Join us for four days of science, networking and virtual engagement with delegates from around the world!

Francoise Amélineau

1

1

SHORT BIO

Presentations

How do seabird migrations differ from other bird migrations? An assessment on six pelagic species of the North Atlantic

Stay up to date with the latest Underline news!

PRESENTATIONS

CONFERENCES

COMPANY

RESOURCES