ArticleAny: | 2016 |
---|
Autor(s): | F. Ramírez, I. Afán, G. Tavecchia, I.A. Catalán, D. Oro, A. Sanz-Aguilar |
---|
Títol: | Oceanographic drivers and mistiming processes shape breeding success in a seabird |
---|
Revista: | PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES |
---|
ISSN: | 0962-8452 |
---|
JCR Impact Factor: | 4.94 |
---|
Volum: | 283 |
---|
Pàgines: | 20152287 |
---|
D.O.I.: | 10.1098/rspb.2015.2287 |
---|
Web: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2287 |
---|
Resum: | Understanding the processes driving seabirds’ reproductive performance through trophic interactions requires the identification of seasonal pulses in marine productivity.We investigated the sequence of environmental and biological processes driving the reproductive phenology and performance of the storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) in the Western Mediterranean. The enhanced light and nutrient availability at the onset of water stratification (late winter/early spring) resulted in annual consecutive peaks in relative abundance of phytoplankton, zooplankton and ichthyoplankton. The high energy-demanding period of egg production and chick rearing coincided with these successive pulses in food availability, pointing to a phenological adjustment to such seasonal patterns with important fitness consequences. Indeed, delayed reproduction with respect to the onset of water stratification resulted in both hatching and breeding failure. This pattern was observed at the population level, but also when confounding factors such as individuals’ age or experience were also accounted for.We provide the first evidence of oceanographic drivers leading to the optimal time-window for reproduction in an inshore seabird at southern European latitudes, along with a suitable framework for assessing the impact of environmentally driven changes in marine productivity patterns in seabird performance. 1. Introduction The breeding phenology of many species has been shaped by individual optimal decisions in response to predictable patterns of food availability in space and time. This is particularly true for those species inhabiting temperate areas, where breeding success depends on the ability to adjust reproductive timing to seasonal patterns in food availability [1,2]. As long as seasonal productivity patterns vary between years, the optimal timing of reproduction will also vary [3], with individuals breeding more successfully when energetic demands overlap extensively with peaks in food availability [4]. Our ability to identify those environmental features leading to seasonal patterns of food availability is essential for understanding environmental processes driving reproductive performance through trophic interactions. Vertebrates with a long gestation or incubation period are expected to time their reproduction so that the short seasonal pulses in food availability coincide with the maximum food requirements for offspring [5]. As reproduction initiates much earlier than the brooding phase, suitable reproductive timing as an adaptation to climatic seasonality should result from the use of cues that are available when the decision is taken to initiate breeding, and informing on future nutritional conditions [6,7]. The onset of reproduction may be influenced by a species-specific combination of fixed (e.g. photoperiod) and/or variable (e.g. & 2016 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Downloaded from http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on March 9, 2016 Personal copy |
---|
|
Personal relacionatGiacomo TavecchiaAna Sanz AguilarIgnacio A. Catalán AlemanyGrups de recerca relacionatsEcologia i Evolució
|