PS 48-132 - Activity budget and daily energy expenditure of a long-distance migratory seabird wintering in the North Atlantic

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

5:00 PM – 6:30 PM EDT

Located in: ESA Exhibit Hall

Coauthor(s)

DL

Don-Jean Leandri-Breton

McGill University, Canada & Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CNRS) - Université de La Rochelle, France
Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada

Presenting Author(s)

KE

Kyle Elliott

Professor
McGill University, Canada, Canada

Coauthor(s)

AT

Arnaud Tarroux

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway, Norway
PL

Pierre Legagneux

Université Laval, Canada & Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CNRS) - Université de La Rochelle, France, Canada
FA

Frédéric Angelier

Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CNRS) - Université de La Rochelle, France, France
PB

Pierre Blévin

Akvaplan-niva AS, Norway, Norway
VB

Vegard Sandøy Bråthen

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway, Norway
PF

Per Fauchal

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway, Norway
AG

Aurélie Goutte

École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), PSL Research University - Sorbonne University, France, France
WJ

William Jouanneau

Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé (CRNS) - Université de La Rochelle, France & Norwegian Polar Institute, Norway, France
ST

Sabrina Tartu

Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé (CRNS) - Université de La Rochelle, France, France
BM

Børge Moe

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway, Norway
OC

Olivier Chastel

Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CNRS) - Université de La Rochelle, France, France

Background/Question/Methods

Seasonal environments impose on animals the necessity to balance their energy expenditure and energy gain according to fluctuating environmental conditions. For species wintering in temperate and polar regions, however, the wintering period can remain an energetically challenging period with deterioration in weather conditions, temperature or food quality creating an “energetic bottleneck” in their annual life cycle. Using 11 years of continuous geolocation tracking data (fall 2008 to spring 2019), we estimated the locations and daily energy expenditure of black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) throughout the non-breeding period. To do so, we estimated a time-activity budget and used species-specific basal and field metabolic rates for flying, foraging and resting behaviours. We expected that individuals differing in winter space utilization must face different environmental constraints and modulate their foraging effort accordingly.

Results/Conclusions

Tracking results indicate that kittiwake winter distribution is spread across the North Atlantic Ocean from the North American to European coasts, but that most individuals spent winter west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. However, this area was associated with higher daily energy expenditure driven by more time spent flying in the West than in the East. We also found that individuals extending their stay in the Barents Sea during autumn were able to adjust to a shorter daylight duration by prolonging their foraging and flying activity into the night. Differences in winter movement strategies thus led to variations in the energy budget, with individuals modulating their behaviour to a certain degree. Overall, the ability of individuals to maintain their energy balance has consequences on life history traits, like mortality or reproductive potential, which ultimately shape population dynamics and selects for migratory behaviour to avoid difficult winter conditions.