TY - JOUR

T1 - Trans-equatorial migration routes, staging sites and wintering areas of a high-Arctic avian predator

T2 - the long-tailed Skua (Stercorarius longicaudus)

AU - Gilg, Olivier

AU - Moe, Børge

AU - Hanssen, Sveinn Are

AU - Schmidt, Niels Martin

AU - Sittler, Benoît

AU - Hansen, Jannik

AU - Reneerkens, Jeroen

AU - Sabard, Brigitte

AU - Chastel, Olivier

AU - Moreau, Jérôme

AU - Phillips, Richard A

AU - Oudman, Thomas

AU - Biersma, Elisabeth M

AU - Fenstad, Anette A

AU - Lang, Johannes

AU - Bollache, Loïc

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - The Long-tailed Skua, a small (<300 g) Arctic-breeding predator and seabird, is a functionally very important component of the Arctic vertebrate communities in summer, but little is known about its migration and winter distribution. We used light-level geolocators to track the annual movements of eight adult birds breeding in north-east Greenland (n = 3) and Svalbard (n = 5). All birds wintered in the Southern Hemisphere (mean arrival-departure dates on wintering grounds: 24 October-21 March): five along the south-west coast of Africa (0-40°S, 0-15°E), in the productive Benguela upwelling, and three further south (30-40°S, 0-50°E), in an area extending into the south-west Indian Ocean. Different migratory routes and rates of travel were documented during post-breeding (345 km d(-1) in late August-early September) and spring migrations (235 km d(-1) in late April) when most birds used a more westerly flyway. Among the different staging areas, a large region off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland appears to be the most important. It was used in autumn by all but one of the tracked birds (from a few days to three weeks) and in spring by five out of eight birds (from one to more than six weeks). Two other staging sites, off the Iberian coast and near the Azores, were used by two birds in spring for five to six weeks. Over one year, individuals travelled between 43,900 and 54,200 km (36,600-45,700 when excluding staging periods) and went as far as 10,500-13,700 km (mean 12,800 km) from their breeding sites. This study has revealed important marine areas in both the south and north Atlantic Ocean. Sustainable management of these ocean basins will benefit Long-tailed Skuas as well as other trans-equatorial migrants from the Arctic.

AB - The Long-tailed Skua, a small (<300 g) Arctic-breeding predator and seabird, is a functionally very important component of the Arctic vertebrate communities in summer, but little is known about its migration and winter distribution. We used light-level geolocators to track the annual movements of eight adult birds breeding in north-east Greenland (n = 3) and Svalbard (n = 5). All birds wintered in the Southern Hemisphere (mean arrival-departure dates on wintering grounds: 24 October-21 March): five along the south-west coast of Africa (0-40°S, 0-15°E), in the productive Benguela upwelling, and three further south (30-40°S, 0-50°E), in an area extending into the south-west Indian Ocean. Different migratory routes and rates of travel were documented during post-breeding (345 km d(-1) in late August-early September) and spring migrations (235 km d(-1) in late April) when most birds used a more westerly flyway. Among the different staging areas, a large region off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland appears to be the most important. It was used in autumn by all but one of the tracked birds (from a few days to three weeks) and in spring by five out of eight birds (from one to more than six weeks). Two other staging sites, off the Iberian coast and near the Azores, were used by two birds in spring for five to six weeks. Over one year, individuals travelled between 43,900 and 54,200 km (36,600-45,700 when excluding staging periods) and went as far as 10,500-13,700 km (mean 12,800 km) from their breeding sites. This study has revealed important marine areas in both the south and north Atlantic Ocean. Sustainable management of these ocean basins will benefit Long-tailed Skuas as well as other trans-equatorial migrants from the Arctic.

KW - Animal Migration/physiology

KW - Animals

KW - Arctic Regions

KW - Birds/physiology

KW - Breeding

KW - Greenland

KW - Predatory Behavior/physiology

KW - Seasons

KW - Svalbard

KW - Time Factors

U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0064614

DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0064614

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 23705000

VL - 8

JO - PLoS ONE

JF - PLoS ONE

SN - 1932-6203

IS - 5

M1 - e64614

ER -