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van der Grient J, Morley S, Arkhipkin A, Bates J, Baylis A, Brewin P, Harte M, White JW, Brickle P. The Falkland Islands marine ecosystem: A review of the seasonal dynamics and trophic interactions across the food web. ADVANCES IN MARINE BIOLOGY 2023; 94:1-68. [PMID: 37244676 DOI: 10.1016/bs.amb.2023.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The Falkland Islands marine environment host a mix of temperate and subantarctic species. This review synthesizes baseline information regarding ontogenetic migration patterns and trophic interactions in relation to oceanographic dynamics of the Falkland Shelf, which is useful to inform ecosystem modelling. Many species are strongly influenced by regional oceanographic dynamics that bring together different water masses, resulting in high primary production which supports high biomass in the rest of the food web. Further, many species, including those of commercial interest, show complex ontogenetic migrations that separate spawning, nursing, and feeding grounds spatially and temporally, producing food web connections across space and time. The oceanographic and biological dynamics may make the ecosystem vulnerable to climatic changes in temperature and shifts in the surrounding area. The Falkland marine ecosystem has been understudied and various functional groups, deep-sea habitats and inshore-offshore connections are poorly understood and should be priorities for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Simon Morley
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander Arkhipkin
- Falkland Islands Government, Directorate of Natural Resources, Fisheries Department, Stanley, Falkland Islands
| | - James Bates
- Falkland Islands Fishing Companies Association, Stanley, Falkland Islands
| | - Alastair Baylis
- South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute, Stanley, Falkland Islands
| | - Paul Brewin
- South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute, Stanley, Falkland Islands; Shallow Marine Surveys Group, Stanley, Falkland Islands
| | - Michael Harte
- College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
| | - J Wilson White
- Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
| | - Paul Brickle
- South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute, Stanley, Falkland Islands; School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
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Masello JF, Barbosa A, Kato A, Mattern T, Medeiros R, Stockdale JE, Kümmel MN, Bustamante P, Belliure J, Benzal J, Colominas-Ciuró R, Menéndez-Blázquez J, Griep S, Goesmann A, Symondson WOC, Quillfeldt P. How animals distribute themselves in space: energy landscapes of Antarctic avian predators. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2021; 9:24. [PMID: 34001240 PMCID: PMC8127181 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-021-00255-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Energy landscapes provide an approach to the mechanistic basis of spatial ecology and decision-making in animals. This is based on the quantification of the variation in the energy costs of movements through a given environment, as well as how these costs vary in time and for different animal populations. Organisms as diverse as fish, mammals, and birds will move in areas of the energy landscape that result in minimised costs and maximised energy gain. Recently, energy landscapes have been used to link energy gain and variable energy costs of foraging to breeding success, revealing their potential use for understanding demographic changes. METHODS Using GPS-temperature-depth and tri-axial accelerometer loggers, stable isotope and molecular analyses of the diet, and leucocyte counts, we studied the response of gentoo (Pygoscelis papua) and chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) penguins to different energy landscapes and resources. We compared species and gentoo penguin populations with contrasting population trends. RESULTS Between populations, gentoo penguins from Livingston Island (Antarctica), a site with positive population trends, foraged in energy landscape sectors that implied lower foraging costs per energy gained compared with those around New Island (Falkland/Malvinas Islands; sub-Antarctic), a breeding site with fluctuating energy costs of foraging, breeding success and populations. Between species, chinstrap penguins foraged in sectors of the energy landscape with lower foraging costs per bottom time, a proxy for energy gain. They also showed lower physiological stress, as revealed by leucocyte counts, and higher breeding success than gentoo penguins. In terms of diet, we found a flexible foraging ecology in gentoo penguins but a narrow foraging niche for chinstraps. CONCLUSIONS The lower foraging costs incurred by the gentoo penguins from Livingston, may favour a higher breeding success that would explain the species' positive population trend in the Antarctic Peninsula. The lower foraging costs in chinstrap penguins may also explain their higher breeding success, compared to gentoos from Antarctica but not their negative population trend. Altogether, our results suggest a link between energy landscapes and breeding success mediated by the physiological condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan F Masello
- Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, D-35392, Giessen, Germany.
| | - Andres Barbosa
- Department Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, C/José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Akiko Kato
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR7372 CNRS-Université La Rochelle, 79360, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Thomas Mattern
- Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, D-35392, Giessen, Germany
- New Zealand Penguin Initiative, PO Box 6319, Dunedin, 9022, New Zealand
| | - Renata Medeiros
- Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Av, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK
- Cardiff School of Dentistry, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XY, UK
| | - Jennifer E Stockdale
- Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Av, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Marc N Kümmel
- Institute for Bioinformatics & Systems Biology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, D-35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Paco Bustamante
- Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 17000, La Rochelle, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 1 rue Descartes, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Josabel Belliure
- GLOCEE - Global Change Ecology and Evolution Group, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jesús Benzal
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, CSIC, Almería, Spain
| | - Roger Colominas-Ciuró
- Department Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, C/José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Menéndez-Blázquez
- Department Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, C/José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sven Griep
- Institute for Bioinformatics & Systems Biology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, D-35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Alexander Goesmann
- Institute for Bioinformatics & Systems Biology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, D-35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - William O C Symondson
- Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Av, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Petra Quillfeldt
- Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, D-35392, Giessen, Germany
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Compound-specific stable isotope analyses in Falkland Islands seabirds reveal seasonal changes in trophic positions. BMC Ecol 2020; 20:21. [PMID: 32293412 PMCID: PMC7160925 DOI: 10.1186/s12898-020-00288-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background While nitrogen and carbon stable isotope values can reflect ecological segregation, prey choice and spatial distribution in seabirds, the interpretation of bulk stable isotope values is frequently hampered by a lack of isotopic baseline data. In this study, we used compound-specific isotope analyses of amino acids (CSIA-AA) to overcome this constraint and to study interspecific differences, seasonal and historical changes in trophic positions of five seabird species, three penguins and two petrels, from a sub-Antarctic seabird community. Results CSIA-AA allowed comparing trophic positions of seabirds with temperate and polar distributions. Gentoo and Magellanic penguins had the highest trophic positions during the breeding season (3.7 and 3.9), but decreased these (2.9 and 3.3) during the feed-up for moult. Intra-specific differences were also detected in Thin-billed prions, where carbon isotope values clearly separated individuals with polar and temperate distributions, both in the breeding and interbreeding periods. Thin-billed prions that foraged in polar waters had lower trophic positions (3.2) than conspecifics foraging in temperate waters (3.8). We further investigated historical changes by comparing museum samples with samples collected recently. Our pilot study suggests that Rockhopper penguins, Magellanic penguins and Thin-billed prions with temperate non-breeding distributions had retained their trophic levels over a 90–100 year period, while Gentoo penguins and Thin-billed prions with polar non-breeding distributions had decreased trophic levels compared to historical samples. In contrast, Wilson’s storm-petrels had slightly increased trophic levels compared to samples taken in 1924–1930. Conclusions We applied compound-specific stable isotope analyses across a range of contexts, from intra-specific comparisons between stages of the breeding cycle to inter-specific seabird community analysis that would not have been possible using bulk stable isotope analyses alone due to differences in isotopic baselines.
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Handley JM, Thiebault A, Stanworth A, Schutt D, Pistorius P. Behaviourally mediated predation avoidance in penguin prey: in situ evidence from animal-borne camera loggers. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171449. [PMID: 30224976 PMCID: PMC6124084 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Predator dietary studies often assume that diet is reflective of the diversity and relative abundance of their prey. This interpretation ignores species-specific behavioural adaptations in prey that could influence prey capture. Here, we develop and describe a scalable biologging protocol, using animal-borne camera loggers, to elucidate the factors influencing prey capture by a seabird, the gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua). From the video evidence, we show, to our knowledge for the first time, that aggressive behavioural defence mechanisms by prey can deter prey capture by a seabird. Furthermore, we provide evidence demonstrating that these birds, which were observed hunting solitarily, target prey when they are most discernible. Specifically, birds targeted prey primarily while ascending and when prey were not tightly clustered. In conclusion, we show that prey behaviour can significantly influence trophic coupling in marine systems because despite prey being present, it is not always targeted. Thus, these predator-prey relationships should be accounted for in studies using marine top predators as samplers of mid- to lower trophic-level species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M. Handley
- DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University, South Campus, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
| | - Andréa Thiebault
- DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University, South Campus, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
| | - Andrew Stanworth
- Falklands Conservation, PO Box 26, Stanley FIQQ 1ZZ, Falkland Islands
| | - David Schutt
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, PO Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217, USA
| | - Pierre Pistorius
- DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University, South Campus, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
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Masello JF, Kato A, Sommerfeld J, Mattern T, Quillfeldt P. How animals distribute themselves in space: variable energy landscapes. Front Zool 2017; 14:33. [PMID: 28694838 PMCID: PMC5499017 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-017-0219-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Foraging efficiency determines whether animals will be able to raise healthy broods, maintain their own condition, avoid predators and ultimately increase their fitness. Using accelerometers and GPS loggers, features of the habitat and the way animals deal with variable conditions can be translated into energetic costs of movement, which, in turn, can be translated to energy landscapes.We investigated energy landscapes in Gentoo Penguins Pygoscelis papua from two colonies at New Island, Falkland/Malvinas Islands. RESULTS In our study, the marine areas used by the penguins, parameters of dive depth and the proportion of pelagic and benthic dives varied both between years and colonies. As a consequence, the energy landscapes also varied between the years, and we discuss how this was related to differences in food availability, which were also reflected in differences in carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values and isotopic niche metrics. In the second year, the energy landscape was characterized by lower foraging costs per energy gain, and breeding success was also higher in this year. Additionally, an area around three South American Fur Seal Arctocephalus australis colonies was never used. CONCLUSIONS These results confirm that energy landscapes vary in time and that the seabirds forage in areas of the energy landscapes that result in minimized energetic costs. Thus, our results support the view of energy landscapes and fear of predation as mechanisms underlying animal foraging behaviour. Furthermore, we show that energy landscapes are useful in linking energy gain and variable energy costs of foraging to breeding success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan F Masello
- Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, D-35392 Giessen, Germany
| | - Akiko Kato
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR7372 CNRS-Université La Rochelle, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Julia Sommerfeld
- Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, D-35392 Giessen, Germany
| | - Thomas Mattern
- Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, D-35392 Giessen, Germany
| | - Petra Quillfeldt
- Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, D-35392 Giessen, Germany
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