Menu

Volume 48, No. 2

Search by author or title:

Manx shearwaters Puffinus puffinus breeding in the western Atlantic follow a different migration route from their eastern Atlantic conspecifics


Authors

ANNETTE L. FAYET1, PAULA SHANNON2, DONALD E. LYONS2,3 & STEPHEN W. KRESS2
1Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK (annette.fayet@gmail.com)
2Audubon Seabird Institute, National Audubon Society, Bremen, ME 04551, USA
3Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA

Citation

FAYET, A.L., SHANNON, P., LYONS, D.E. & KRESS, S.W. 2020. Manx shearwaters Puffinus puffinus breeding in the western Atlantic follow a different migration route from their eastern Atlantic conspecifics. Marine Ornithology 48: 179 - 183

Received 14 May 2020, accepted 17 June 2020

Date Published: 2020/10/15
Date Online: 2020/06/29
Key words: migration, Manx Shearwater, Puffinus puffinus, geolocation, annual cycle, phenology

Abstract

Manx Shearwaters are transequatorial migrants, and most of the world's population breeds in Britain and winters off the Patagonian Shelf in the western South Atlantic. The migration route of British birds follows a well-known clockwise movement between the North and South Atlantic, taking advantage of the winds. Whether this main Manx Shearwater migration corridor is used by the smaller populations breeding in the western North Atlantic is unknown. Here, we report our findings from tracking two adults from a newly-established colony of Manx Shearwaters in Maine, USA using miniature geolocators. The tracked shearwaters followed a post-breeding migration route southward along the US East Coast, through the Caribbean Sea, and along the coast of eastern South America. Such a route greatly differs from the western North Atlantic birds' southbound migration route, being instead the reverse of the British birds' spring migration route. We also used the tracking data to provide insight into the phenology of the birds' annual cycle. Although our sample size is very small, our findings reveal a previously unknown migration route of Manx Shearwaters and raise questions about the origin of birds on western North Atlantic colonies and the mechanisms controlling migratory direction in the species.

References


BROOKE, M. 1990. The Manx Shearwater. London, UK: Poyser Monographs.

FAYET, A.L., FREEMAN, R., SHOJI, A. ET AL. 2016. Carry-over effects on the annual cycle of a migratory seabird: an experimental study. Journal of Animal Ecology 85: 1516-1527. 

FRASER, G.S., RUSSELL, J., ROBERTSON, G.J., BRYANT, R. & FIFIELD, D.A. 2013. Prospects for the Manx Shearwater colony on Middle Lawn Island, Newfoundland, Canada. Marine Ornithology 41: 137-140.

GONZÁLEZ-SOLÍS, J., FELICÍSIMO, A., FOX, J.W., AFANASYEV, V., KOLBEINSSON, Y. & MUÑOZ, J. 2009. Influence of sea surface winds on shearwater migration detours. Marine Ecology Progress Series 391: 221-230.

GUILFORD, T., MEADE, J., WILLIS, J. ET AL. 2009. Migration and stopover in a small pelagic seabird, the Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus: insights from machine learning. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological sciences 276: 1215-1223.

KIRK, H.L. 2016. Annual and individual patterns in the behavioural cycle of the Manx shearwater, Puffinus puffinus. DPhil Thesis. Oxford, UK: University of Oxford.

PHILLIPS, R.A., SILK, J.R.D., CROXALL, J.P., AFANASYEV, V. & BRIGGS, D.R. 2004. Accuracy of geolocation estimates for flying seabirds. Marine Ecology Progress Series 266: 265-272.

SHOJI, A., ARIS-BROSOU, S., CULINA, A., et al. 2015. Breeding phenology and winter activity predict subsequent breeding success in a trans-global migratory seabird. Biology Letters 11: 20150671. 

SPEAR, L.B. & AINLEY, D.G. 1997. Flight behaviour of seabirds in relation to wind direction and wing morphology. Ibis 139: 221-233. 

Search by author or title:

Browse previous volumes: