Trans-Equatorial Migration Routes, Staging Sites and Wintering Areas of a High-Arctic Avian Predator: The Long-tailed Skua (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Gilg, Olivier; Moe, Børge; Hanssen, Sveinn Are; Schmidt, Niels Martin; Sittler, Benoit; Hansen, Jannik; Reneerkens, Jeroen; Sabard, Brigitte; Chastel, Olivier; Moreau, Jérôme; Phillips, Richard A.; Oudman, Thomas; Biersma, Elisabeth M.; Fenstad, Anette; Lang, Johannes; Bollache, Loïc
Peer reviewed, Journal article
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http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2387944Utgivelsesdato
2013Metadata
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Sammendrag
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 lightlevel
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 (0–40uS, 0–15uE), in the productive Benguela upwelling, and three further
south (30–40uS, 0–50uE), in an area extending into the south-west Indian Ocean. Different migratory routes and rates of
travel were documented during post-breeding (345 km d21 in late August-early September) and spring migrations (235 km
d21 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.