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Seabirds as ecosystem engineers: Providing arthropod habitat on oceanic islands.
Citation
Mizukoshi, K., Kawakami, K., & Kamijo, T. (2026). Seabirds as ecosystem engineers: Providing arthropod habitat on oceanic islands.
Marine Ornithology, 54(1),
147-154.
http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.54.1.1680
Received 12 November 2025, accepted 15 January 2026
Date Published: 2026/04/15
Date Online: 2026/04/15
Key words: Ardenna pacifica, arthropod fauna, burrow nesters, ecosystem engineer, seabird nesting, oceanic islands, Sula leucogaster
Abstract
Seabirds play several important ecological roles on oceanic islands through their high-density breeding. Their ecosystem functions—such as nutrient cycling through excretion or terrestrial vegetation disturbance through trampling—are well known; however, little is known of their roles as ecosystem engineers. Nests and burrows can be densely concentrated in seabird colonies, by which seabirds can affect adjacent terrestrial ecosystems, especially affecting arthropods that use these structures as food or habitats. However, studies investigating the species composition of arthropods that inhabit seabird nests are limited. To characterize the arthropod faunas in seabird nests, this study surveyed and analyzed 90 nests of three seabird species nesting on the Ogasawara Islands, Japan. In total, 207 individuals of arthropods belonging to nine orders were found. In addition, we found that more arthropods occurred in the burrows of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna pacifica, formed within soil, compared to nests of Brown Boobies Sula leucogaster, which nest on the surface. It appears that burrows, such as those of shearwaters, maintain stable temperature and humidity, and thus they can greatly influence terrestrial arthropod communities on the islands.
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