Oceanographic drivers and mistiming processes shape breeding success in a seabird.

ABSTRACT: 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 fitnes

SUBMITTER: Ramirez F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4810842 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature