Menu

Volume 49, No. 2

Search by author or title:

Philopatry, mate fidelity, and nest-site fidelity for South Polar Skuas Stercorarius maccormicki at the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica


Authors

JOHN VAN DEN HOFF1*, KRIS CARLYON2, LOUISE EMMERSON1, CLIVE R. MCMAHON3 & GARY D. MILLER4
1 Australian Antarctic Division, GPO Box 858, Canberra, 2601 Australian Capital Territory, Australia *(john_van@aad.gov.au)
2 Marine Conservation Program, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, 134 Macquarie Street, Hobart, 7000 Tasmania, Australia
3 IMOS Animal Tagging, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, 19 Chowder Bay Road, Mosman, 2088 New South Wales, Australia (http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5241-8917)
4 9 Maddelena Court, Old Beach, 7017 Tasmania, Australia

Citation

VAN DEN HOFF, J., CARLYON, K., EMMERSON, L., MCMAHON, C.R. & MILLER, G.D. 2021. Philopatry, mate fidelity, and nest-site fidelity for South Polar Skuas Stercorarius maccormicki at the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. Marine Ornithology 49: 265 - 273
http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.49.2.1434

Received 05 February 2021, accepted 26 May 2021

Date Published: 2021/10/15
Date Online: 2021/09/30
Key words: disease, dispersal, human activity, immigration, philopatry

Abstract

Antarctica experiences continual spatial and temporal expansions in human activities, but information to understand how resident species may be impacted is usually inadequate. We analysed resights of South Polar Skuas Stercorarius maccormicki that were individually marked with leg rings during 1999-2004 to compare breeding behaviours such as philopatry, adult mate fidelity, and site fidelity in the Vestfold Hills population, East Antarctica, with other regions. Despite their impressive dispersal capabilities, philopatry for birds resighted in the study area was within 4 km of the natal nest, and adult nest-fidelity was within 1 km of a previous nest site. Such faithfulness to site, combined with a life expectancy of > 25 years, indicates that displacement of returning adults and offspring from established breeding habitat may be a slow process, perhaps at generational timescales. Mate fidelity for birds ringed as breeding pairs exceeded 10 years, with individuals of pairs who failed to return or skipped breeding for single or multiple seasons being readily replaced. Resights of marked individuals also showed the Vestfold Hills receives individual skuas from distant sources; hence, we can learn more about the role of this predatory, highly migratory species in the spread of disease across landscapes and between seabird species. This study extends our understanding of skua ecology and their high nest-site and mate fidelity. Findings suggesting that their capacity to relocate in response to human disturbance may be limited.

References


AINLEY, D.G. 1981. Population studies of South Polar Skuas. Antarctic Journal of the United States 16: 148.

AINLEY, D.G., MORRELL, S.H. & WOOD, R.C. 1986. South Polar Skua breeding colonies in the Ross Sea region, Antarctica. Notornis 33: 155-163.

AINLEY, D.G., RIBIC, C.A. & WOOD R.C. 1990. A demographic study of the South Polar Skua Catharacta maccormicki at Cape Crozier. Journal of Animal Ecology 59: 1-20.

ATS (ANTARCTIC TREATY SECRETARIAT) 2021. Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora. Buenos Aires, Argentina: ATS. [Accessed online at https://www.ats.aq/e/faflo.html on 21 May 2021.]

BARBOSA, A., VARSANI, A., MORANDINI, V. ET AL. 2021. Risk assessment of SARS-CoV-2 in Antarctic wildlife. Science of the Total Environment 755: 143352.

BENGSTON NASH, S., RINTOUL, S.R., KAWAGUCHI, S. ET AL. 2010. Perfluorinated compounds in the Antarctic region: Ocean circulation provides prolonged protection from distant sources. Environmental Pollution 158: 2985-2991. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2010.05.024

BRAUN, C., ESEFELD, J. & PETER, H.-U. 2018. Decadal changes in a breeding population of Southern Giant Petrels on King George Island, Antarctic, in response to human activities. In: KASSENS, H., DAMASKE, D., DIEKMANN, B. ET AL. (Eds.) Reports on Polar and Marine Research. Proceedings of the 27th International Polar Conference, 25-29 March 2018. Rostock, Germany: German Society for Polar Research.

COMNAP (COUNCIL OF MANAGERS OF NATIONAL ANTARCTIC PROGRAM) 2020. 2020 Symposium: Antarctic Station Modernisation: Future‐proofing Infrastructure to Support Research and to Reduce Environmental Impact. Christchurch, New Zealand: COMNAP Secretariat. [Accessed at https://www.comnap.aq/projects/comnap-symposium-antarctic-station-modernization/ on 21 May 2021.]

COULSON, J.C. 2016. A review of philopatry in seabirds and comparisons with other waterbird species. Waterbirds 39: 229-240.

DASZAK, P., CUNNINGHAM, A.A. & HYATT, A.D. 2000. Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife - threats to biodiversity and human health. Science 287: 443-449.

EKLUND, C.R. 1961. Distribution and life history studies of the South-Polar Skua. Bird-Banding 32: 187-223.

FERRER, M., PENTERIANI, V., BALBONTÍN, J. & PANDOLFI, M. 2003. The proportion of immature breeders as a reliable early warning signal of population decline: Evidence from the Spanish Imperial Eagle in Doñana. Biological Conservation 114: 463-466. doi:10.1016/S0006-3207(03)00085-5

FINKELSTEIN, M.E., DOAK D.F., NAKAGAWA, M., SIEVERT, P.R. & KLAVITTER, J. 2010. Assessment of demographic risk factors and management priorities: impacts on juveniles substantially affect population viability of a long‐lived seabird. Animal Conservation 13: 148-156.

GAMBLE, A., BAZIRE, R., DELORD, K. ET AL. 2020. Predator and scavenger movements among and within endangered seabird colonies: Opportunities for pathogen spread. Journal of Applied Ecology 57: 367-378.

GOLUBEV, S.V. 2018. Injuries of webs on the feet of South Polar Skuas Catharacta maccormicki: Results of studying active obliged aggregations. American Journal of Life Sciences 6: 65-73.

HEMMINGS, A.D. 1984. Aspects of the breeding biology of McCormick's skua Catharacta maccormicki at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. British Antarctic Survey Bulletin 65: 65-79.

HULL, C., CARTER, R. & WHITEHEAD, M.D. 1994. Aspects of breeding chronology and success of the Antarctic skua Catharacta maccormicki at Magnetic Island, Prydz Bay, Antarctica. Corella 18: 37-40.

JONES, H.I., GALLAGHER, J.M., & MILLER, G.D. 2002. Survey of South Polar Skuas (Catharacta maccormicki) for blood parasites in the Vestfold Hills region of Antarctica. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 38: 213-215.

KENNICUTT, M.C., II, CHOWN, S.L., CASSANO, J.J. ET AL. 2015. A roadmap for Antarctic and Southern Ocean science for the next two decades and beyond. Antarctic Science 27: 3-18.

KOPP, M., PETER, H.-U., MUSTAFA, O. ET AL. 2011. South Polar Skuas from a single breeding population overwinter in different oceans though show similar migration patterns. Marine Ecology Progress Series 435: 263-267.

LEOTTA, G.A., CHINEN, I., VIGO, G.B., PECORARO, M. & RIVAS, M. 2006. Outbreaks of avian cholera in Hope Bay, Antarctica. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 42: 259-270.

MCGARRY, R. 1988. Survey of McCormick Skua colonies in southern McMurdo Sound. New Zealand Antarctic Record 8: 5-10.

MEHLUM, F., GJESSING, Y., HAFTON, S. & BECH, C. 1988. Census of breeding Antarctica Petrels Thalassoica antarctica and physical features of the breeding colony at Svarthamaren, Dronning Maud Land, with notes on breeding Snow Petrels Pagodroma nivea and South Polar Skuas Catharacta maccormicki. Polar Research 6: 1-9. doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.1988,tb00576.x

MILLER, G.D., WATTS, J.M. & SHELLAM, G.R. 2008. Viral antibodies in South Polar Skuas around Davis Station, Antarctica. Antarctic Science 20: 455-461.

MORRISON, K.W., ARMSTRONG, D.P., BATTLEY, P.F., JAMIESON, S.E. & THOMPSON, D.R. 2017. Predation by New Zealand sea lions and Brown Skuas is causing the continued decline of an Eastern Rockhopper Penguin colony on Campbell Island. Polar Biology 40: 735-751.

PACOUREAU, N., DELORD, K., JENOUVRIER, S. & BARBRAUD, C. 2019. Demographic and population responses of an apex predator to climate and its prey: a long-term study of South Polar Skuas. Ecological Monographs 89: e01388.

PIETZ, P.J. & PARMELEE, D.F. 1994. Survival, site and mate fidelity in South Polar Skuas Catharacta maccormicki at Anvers Island, Antarctica. Ibis 136: 32-38.

REINHARDT, K., HAHN, S., & PETER, H.-U. 1998. The role of skuas in the food web of the Potter Cove system: A review. Berichte zur Polarforschung 299: 279-284.

RITZ, M.S., MILLAR, C., MILLER, G.D. ET AL. 2008. Phylogeography of the southern skua complex - rapid colonisation of the southern hemisphere during a glacial period and reticulate evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49: 292-303.

SMEELE, Z.E., AINLEY, D.G., & VARSANI, A. 2018. Viruses associated with Antarctic wildlife: From serology-based detection to identification of genomes using high throughput sequencing. Virus Research 243: 91-105.

SMITH, J.L., MULDER. C.P.H., & ELLIS, J.C. 2011. Seabirds as ecosystem engineers: nutrient inputs and physical disturbance. In: MULDER C.P.H., ANDERSON, W.B., TOWNS, D.R. & BELLINGHAM, P.J. (Eds). Seabird Islands: Ecology, Invasion, and Restoration. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

VAN DEN HOFF, J. 2017. Sightings of ringed Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus in East Antarctica: a tale of missed opportunity. Marine Ornithology 45: 191-194.

WEIMERSKIRCH, H., JOUVENTIN, P., MOUGIN, J.C., STAHL, J.C., & VAN BEVEREN, M. 1985. Banding recoveries and the dispersal of seabirds breeding in French Austral and Antarctic territories. Emu 85: 22-33.

WEIMERSKIRCH, H., TARROUX, A., CHASTEL, O., DELORD, K., CHEREL, Y. & DESCAMPS, S. 2015. Population-specific wintering distributions of adult South Polar Skuas over three oceans. Marine Ecology Progress Series 538: 229-237.

WILSON, D.J., LYVER, P.O., GREENE, T.C. ET AL. 2017. South Polar Skua breeding populations in the Ross Sea assessed from demonstrated relationship with Adélie Penguin numbers. Polar Biology 40: 577-592. doi:10.1007/s00300-016-1980-4

WOEHLER, E.J. & JOHNSTONE, G.W. 1991. Status and conservation of the seabirds of the Australian Antarctic Territory. In: CROXALL, J.P. (Ed.) Seabird status and conservation: A supplement. Cambridge, UK: International Council for Bird Preservation.

WOOD, R.C. 1971. Population dynamics of breeding South Polar Skuas of unknown age. The Auk 88: 805-814.

YOUNG, E.C. 1977. Egg-laying in relation to latitude in Southern Hemisphere skuas. Ibis 119: 191-195.

YOUNG, E.C. 1994. Skua and Penguin: Predator and Prey. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

WANG, Z. & NORMAN, F.I. 1993. Foods of the South Polar Skua Catharacta maccormicki in the eastern Larsemann Hills, Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica. Polar Biology 13: 255-262.

WANG, Z., NORMAN, F.I., BURGESS, J.S., WARD, S.J., SPATE, A.P., & CARSON, C.J. 1996. Human influences on breeding of South Polar Skuas in the eastern Larsemann Hills, Princess Elizabeth land, East Antarctica. Polar Record 32: 43-50.

Search by author or title:

Browse previous volumes: