Decadal increase in vessel interactions by a scavenging pelagic seabird across the North Atlantic

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dc.contributor.authorDarby, J. H.en
dc.contributor.authorClairbaux, M.en
dc.contributor.authorQuinn, J. L.en
dc.contributor.authorThompson, P.en
dc.contributor.authorQuinn, L.en
dc.contributor.authorCabot, Daviden
dc.contributor.authorStrøm, H.en
dc.contributor.authorThórarinsson, T. L.en
dc.contributor.authorKempf, J.en
dc.contributor.authorJessopp, M. J.en
dc.contributor.funderHorizon 2020en
dc.contributor.funderIrish Research Councilen
dc.contributor.funderNorges Forskningsråd
dc.contributor.funderForsvaret
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-15T09:45:46Z
dc.date.available2025-01-15T09:45:46Z
dc.date.issued2023en
dc.description.abstractFisheries waste is used by many seabirds as a supplementary source of food,1 but interacting with fishing vessels to obtain this resource puts birds at risk of entanglement in fishing gear and mortality.2 As a result, bycatch is one of the leading contributors to seabird decline worldwide,3 and this risk may increase over time as birds increasingly associate fishing vessels with food. Light-level geolocators mounted on seabirds can detect light emitted from vessels at night year-round.4 We used a 16-year time series of geolocator data from 296 northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) breeding at temperate and arctic colonies to investigate trends of nocturnal vessel interactions in this scavenging pelagic seabird. Vessel attendance has progressively increased over the study period despite no corresponding increase in the number of vessels or availability of discards over the same time frame. Fulmars are highly mobile generalist surface feeders,5 so this may signal a reduction in available prey biomass in the upper water column, leading to increased reliance on anthropogenic food subsidies6 and increased risk of bycatch mortality in already threatened seabird populations. Individuals were consistent in the extent to which they interacted with vessels, as shown in other species,7 suggesting that population-level increases may be due to a higher proportion of fulmars following vessels rather than changes at an individual level. Higher encounter rates were correlated with lower time spent foraging and a geographically restricted overwintering distribution, suggesting an energetic advantage for these scavenging strategists compared with foraging for natural prey. © 2023 The Author(s)en
dc.description.sponsorshipIrish Research Council, (EPSPG/2019/469); Norges Forskningsråd, (192141)
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationDarby, J.H., Clairbaux, M., Quinn, J.L., Thompson, P., Quinn, L., Cabot, D., Strøm, H., Thorarinsson, T.L., Kempf, J. and Jessopp, M.J. (2023) 'Decadal increase in vessel interactions by a scavenging pelagic seabird across the North Atlantic', Current Biology, 33(19), pp.4225-4231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.033en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.033en
dc.identifier.endpage4231en
dc.identifier.issued19
dc.identifier.journaltitleCurrent Biologyen
dc.identifier.startpage4225en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/16823
dc.identifier.volume33
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherCell Pressen
dc.relation.project101007135
dc.rights© 2023, The Author(s). This work is made available under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectBiologgingen
dc.subjectBycatch risken
dc.subjectDiscardsen
dc.subjectEcosystem effectsen
dc.subjectFisheries interactionsen
dc.subjectFulmarus glacialisen
dc.subjectMigration strategiesen
dc.subjectNorthern fulmaren
dc.subjectPrey reductionen
dc.subjectSeabird behavioren
dc.titleDecadal increase in vessel interactions by a scavenging pelagic seabird across the North Atlanticen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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