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Related Experiment Videos

Using stable isotopes to study resource acquisition and allocation in procellariiform seabirds.

Y Cherel1, K A Hobson, H Weimerskirch

  • 1Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UPR 1934 du CNRS, BP 14, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France. cherel@cebc.cnrs.fr

Oecologia
|July 8, 2005
PubMed
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Procellariiform seabirds use alternating foraging trips to feed chicks. Stable isotopes reveal parents store energy during long trips for short trips, confirming negligible self-feeding during short trips.

Area of Science:

  • Marine Ecology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Stable Isotope Ecology

Background:

  • Procellariiform seabirds exhibit a dual foraging strategy, alternating between short (ST) and long (LT) trips for chick provisioning.
  • Parent birds gain mass during LT but lose mass during ST due to increased feeding frequency.
  • Understanding self-feeding during foraging is critical for explaining energy allocation but remains poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate self-feeding strategies and energy allocation in parent procellariiform seabirds during chick provisioning.
  • To test the hypothesis that energy for ST is derived from LT stores and self-feeding during ST is negligible.
  • To identify prey composition and foraging locations of parent short-tailed shearwaters.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Utilized stable isotope analysis (δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C) on plasma samples from adult short-tailed shearwaters and their prey.
  • Compared isotopic signatures of adults returning from LT and ST foraging trips.
  • Employed an isotopic mixing model to estimate prey consumption proportions.

    • Main Results:

    • Returning adults from both LT and ST exhibited Antarctic/subantarctic δ¹³C signatures, indicating self-feeding occurred in distant, cold waters.
    • This confirms that parent birds primarily rely on stored energy from LT for ST, with negligible self-feeding during ST.
    • Isotopic data suggest adults prey on mesopelagic myctophid fishes (87%) and subantarctic krill (13%), with chick diets reflecting diverse, distant prey.

    Conclusions:

    • Short-tailed shearwaters utilize stored energy from long-distance foraging trips to sustain chick provisioning during short trips.
    • Self-feeding during short foraging trips is minimal, with birds relying on energy reserves accumulated in distant Antarctic/subantarctic waters.
    • Reproductive success is intrinsically linked to the availability of prey resources in geographically distant marine ecosystems.