Year-round at-sea distribution and trophic resources partitioning between two sympatric Sulids in the tropical Atlantic.

ABSTRACT: In the oligotrophic tropical marine environment resources are usually more patchily distributed and less abundant to top predators. Thus, spatial and trophic competition can emerge, especially between related seabird species belonging to the same ecological guild. Here we studied the foraging ecology of two sympatric species-brown booby (BRBO) Sula leucogaster (breeding) and red-footed boobies (RFBO) Sula sula (non-breeding)-at Raso islet (Cabo Verde), across different seasons. Sexual segregation was only observed during Jun-Oct, when RFBO were present, with larger females BRBO remaining closer to the colonies, while males and RFBO travelled further and exploited different habitats. Overall, species appeared to prefer areas with specific oceanic features, particularly those related with oc

SUBMITTER: Almeida N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8216530 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature