**Abstract:**

Seasonal and annual climate variation is linked to fluctuations in resource abundance and/or distribution. In adverse conditions, animals with flexible foraging behaviours are more likely to find enough of these resources to sustain both self-maintenance and reproduction. In light of rapid habitat changes due to global warming and habitat degradation, plasticity in foraging behaviour has important implications for population trajectories. Here, the foraging behaviour of four sub-Antarctic albatross species was investigated from 2015/16 to 2017/18, a period that was characterized by pronounced climatic variability. Over three breeding seasons on Marion Island, GPS dataloggers were deployed on incubating wandering (WA), grey-headed (GHA), sooty (SA) and light-mantled (LMA) albatrosses to track there at-sea distribution. The response of birds to environmental variability was investigated by quantifying changes in their foraging behaviour along two axes: spatial distribution, using kernel density analysis, and foraging habitat, using generalised additive models and Bayesian mixed models. Our results suggest that during incubation, the albatross species have different foraging strategies and levels behavioural flexibility when responding to environmental variability. The WA appear as foraging habitat generalist, with individuals foraging in different habitats during a foraging trip. In contrast, the three smaller albatrosses exhibited interannual differences in foraging habitats. The generalist habitat-use of the WAB and differential habitat use of the GHA, DMA and LMA suggests that these species might be resilient to predicted changes in climate. Future investigations of marine predator response to environmental variability are likely to benefit from coupling information on foraging behaviour with demographics. This will allow for better understanding of the link between behavioural plasticity and population responses.

**Authors:**

Tegan Carpenter-Kling¹, Ryan Reisinger², Florian Orgeret¹, Maelle Connan¹, Pierre Pistorius¹

¹Marine Apex Predator Research Unit (MAPRU), Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, FitzPatrick I, ²Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 du CNRS-La Rochelle Université

Faithful nomads and flexible faithfulness: foraging behaviour of four sympatric albatross species in a dynamic environment

**Abstract:**

Precise and accurate retrospective geolocation of marine predators via their tissues' isotopic composition relies on quality reference maps of relevant isotopic gradients ("isoscapes") together with a good working knowledge of any discrimination factors which may offset their isotopic composition from baseline isotopic values. For the first time, we investigated inter-specific differences among predator level isoscapes across the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. We combined fine-scale GPS tracking data and concurrent blood plasma δ13C and δ15N values of eight species of seabirds (three albatross, two giant petrel and three penguin species) breeding at Marion Island to produce species- and guild-specific isoscapes. Our study revealed latitudinal spatial gradients in both δ13C and δ15N for far-ranging seabirds (i.e. albatrosses and giant petrels) as well as inshore - offshore gradients for closer ranging seabirds (i.e. penguins). However, at the species level, latitudinal spatial gradients were not reflected in the δ13Cof two and δ15N isoscapes of three of the five far-ranging species studied. It is therefore important, when possible, to estimate and apply species-specific isoscapes or have a good understanding of any factors and pathways affecting marine predators' isotopic composition when studying the foraging ecology of marine predators via tissue stable isotope compositions. Using a multi-species approach we provide evidence of large and regional scale systematic spatial variability of δ13C and δ15N at the base of the marine food web that propagates through trophic levels and is reflected in the isotopic composition of top predators' tissues.

**Authors:**

Tegan Carpenter-Kling¹, Pierre Pistorius¹, Ryan Reisinger², Yves Cherel², Maelle Connan³

¹Marine Apex Predator Research Unit (MAPRU), Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, FitzPatrick I, ²Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chize, UMR 7372 du CNRS-La Rochelle Université, ³Marine Apex Predator Research Unit (MAPRU), Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Department of

You are where you ate: A critical assessment of marine predator isoscapes within the Southern Indian Ocean

Poster Session I Atlantic - J: Foraging ecology

poster

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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3rd World Seabird Conference

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

Tegan Carpenter-Kling

2

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Presentations

Faithful nomads and flexible faithfulness: foraging behaviour of four sympatric albatross species in a dynamic environment

You are where you ate: A critical assessment of marine predator isoscapes within the Southern Indian Ocean

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