title: Combined Use of GPS and Accelerometry Reveals Fine Scale Three-Dimensional Foraging Behaviour in the Short-Tailed Shearwater.
abstract: Determining the foraging behaviour of free-ranging marine animals is fundamental for assessing their habitat use and how they may respond to changes in the environment. However, despite recent advances in bio-logging technology, collecting information on both at-sea movement patterns and activity budgets still remains difficult in small pelagic seabird species due to the constraints of instrument size. The short-tailed shearwater, the most abundant seabird species in Australia (ca 23 million individuals), is a highly pelagic procellariiform. Despite its ecological importance to the region, almost nothing is known about its at-sea behaviour, in particular, its foraging activity. Using a combination of GPS and tri-axial accelerometer data-loggers, the fine scale three-dimensional foraging behaviour of 10 breeding individuals from two colonies was investigated. Five at-sea behaviours were identified: (1) resting on water, (2) flapping flight, (3) gliding flight, (4) foraging (i.e., surface foraging and diving events), and (5) taking-off. There were substantial intra- and inter- individual variations in activity patterns, with individuals spending on average 45.8% (range: 17.1-70.0%) of time at sea resting on water and 18.2% (range: 2.3-49.6%) foraging. Individuals made 76.4 ± 65.3 dives (range: 8-237) per foraging trip (mean duration 9.0 ± 1.9 s), with dives also recorded during night-time. With the continued miniaturisation of recording devices, the use of combined data-loggers could provide us with further insights into the foraging behaviour of small procellariiforms, helping to better understand interactions with their prey.
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Maud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berlincourt
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Lauren P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Angel
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: John P Y
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Arnould
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry; D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D001315:Australia; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D013686:Telemetry