Climate driven life histories: the case of the Mediterranean storm petrel

PLoS One. 2014 Apr 11;9(4):e94526. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094526. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Seabirds are affected by changes in the marine ecosystem. The influence of climatic factors on marine food webs can be reflected in long-term seabird population changes. We modelled the survival and recruitment of the Mediterranean storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis) using a 21-year mark-recapture dataset involving almost 5000 birds. We demonstrated a strong influence of prebreeding climatic conditions on recruitment age and of rainfall and breeding period conditions on juvenile survival. The results suggest that the juvenile survival rate of the Mediterranean subspecies may not be negatively affected by the predicted features of climate change, i.e., warmer summers and lower rainfall. Based on considerations of winter conditions in different parts of the Mediterranean, we were able to draw inferences about the wintering areas of the species for the first time.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Breeding
  • Charadriiformes / physiology*
  • Climate*
  • Mediterranean Region
  • Models, Biological
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Seasons
  • Survival Analysis
  • Time Factors

Grants and funding

This project was funded by the Assessorato Regionale Agricoltura e Foreste to the Bird Ringing Unit of the University of Palermo. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.