Dr Stephen Votier

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Seabird monitoring on the move: Tracking Gannets in the SW

Northern gannet Morus bassanus Global population ~400K pairs

Grassholm

>39,000 pairs

Third largest colony in UK

Exponential increase during last century

Applied & fundamental research

Changes coming:

Fish stock structure

Offshore windfarms

Fisheries reforms

Conventional monitoring limited utility

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Monitoring gannets on the move

Tracking:

1. GPS; GLS; TDR; PTT; cameras etc.

2. Development of analysis tools

3. Huge decrease in price

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4

Cox Bearhop Thompson Witt

Scales

Patrick Grecian

Bicknell Inger Newton Lisa & Greg

Stauss & Waggitt Hamer Bodey

Wakefield Vandanabeele

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?op=1&view=global&subj=627998090&pid=1562056&id=670521148&oid=18657539408http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=101798&id=1357114241

1. Tracking distribution & behaviour

Since 2006, >300 birds tracked with GPS

Core foraging south and west of Grassholm

>100 with temperature depth recorders

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1. Tracking distribution & behaviour Highly variable behaviour among individuals

Patterns consistent within and among years

Same at other colonies

6 Patrick et al. (2014) Oikos 123: 33-40

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2010

2011

2012

2. Tracking as a monitoring tool

3. Monitoring impacts of fisheries reform

Tracking gannets and fishing boats:

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Votier et al. (2010) J. Appl. Ecol. 47: 487-497

3. Monitoring impacts of fisheries reform Ecological footprint of fishing activity:

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Bodey et al. (2014)unpublished

3. Monitoring impacts of fisheries reform

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*

= fishing boat

= ARS

Votier et al. (2013) PLoS ONE 8: e57376

female

*

male

GPS & bird-borne cameras

http://vimeo.com/76594569http://vimeo.com/76594569http://vimeo.com/76594569

4. Multi-colony gannet tracking

12 colonies

184 individual gannets

Colony-specific foraging ranges:

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Wakefield et al. (2013) Science 341: 68-70

Where next? 1. Developing tracking as a monitoring tool

Linking foraging with demography

Foraging effort as a measure of food availability?

2. Tracking immature gannets Ontogeny of foraging behaviour

Prospecting and dispersal

3. Over-winter

4. Social foraging behaviour

5. 3D Movement Altitude & depth

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Gannets and oceanography

G150 (female)

0 50 10025Kilometers

*

G148 (sex unknown)

0 20 4010Kilometers

*

0 50 10025Kilometers

G151 (female) - Trip 2

*

0 25 5012.5Kilometers

G151 (female) - Trip 1

*

G147 (male)G145 (male)

0 10 205Kilometers

0 30 6015Kilometers

*

*

Kylie Scales unpublished

Frontal frequency

Pro

bab

ility

of

AR

S