Combined Use of GPS and Accelerometry Reveals Fine Scale Three-Dimensional Foraging Behaviour in the Short-Tailed Shearwater

PLoS One. 2015 Oct 6;10(10):e0139351. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139351. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Determining the foraging behaviour of free-ranging marine animals is fundamental for assessing their habitat use and how they may respond to changes in the environment. However, despite recent advances in bio-logging technology, collecting information on both at-sea movement patterns and activity budgets still remains difficult in small pelagic seabird species due to the constraints of instrument size. The short-tailed shearwater, the most abundant seabird species in Australia (ca 23 million individuals), is a highly pelagic procellariiform. Despite its ecological importance to the region, almost nothing is known about its at-sea behaviour, in particular, its foraging activity. Using a combination of GPS and tri-axial accelerometer data-loggers, the fine scale three-dimensional foraging behaviour of 10 breeding individuals from two colonies was investigated. Five at-sea behaviours were identified: (1) resting on water, (2) flapping flight, (3) gliding flight, (4) foraging (i.e., surface foraging and diving events), and (5) taking-off. There were substantial intra- and inter- individual variations in activity patterns, with individuals spending on average 45.8% (range: 17.1-70.0%) of time at sea resting on water and 18.2% (range: 2.3-49.6%) foraging. Individuals made 76.4 ± 65.3 dives (range: 8-237) per foraging trip (mean duration 9.0 ± 1.9 s), with dives also recorded during night-time. With the continued miniaturisation of recording devices, the use of combined data-loggers could provide us with further insights into the foraging behaviour of small procellariiforms, helping to better understand interactions with their prey.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Accelerometry
  • Animals
  • Appetitive Behavior / physiology*
  • Australia
  • Birds / physiology*
  • Ecosystem
  • Feeding Behavior / physiology*
  • Flight, Animal / physiology*
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Telemetry

Grants and funding

This work was funded by ANZ Trustees Foundation - Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (grant RM23947) (http://www.anz.com/personal/private-bank-trustees/trustees/granting/granting-programs/small-grants/), MA Ingram Trust Application (grant RM25024) (https://www.statetrustees.com.au/uploads/content/142-MA_Ingram_Trust____Guidelines__Application_Form.pdf), and Birds Australia (grant RM23896) (http://birdlife.org.au/who-we-are/ourorganisation/awards-scholarships).