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Publication
Colony attendance and moult pattern of Cory's Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) differing in breeding status and age
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Migratory birds must fit three costly life-history events within the annual cycle, reproduction, moult and migration, to minimize their overlap and maximize survival and breeding
success. However, some seabirds, such as Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris borealis, overlap
body moult and breeding, with flight feather renewal occurring in late chick-rearing. In contrast, the moult patterns of non-breeding adult (sabbatical) and immature Cory’s Shearwaters, which also attend the colony during the breeding season, remain poorly understood.
Furthermore, the potential implications of life-stage and breeding status trade-offs on moult
status and colony attendance in non-breeders has rarely been investigated. Surveying different areas within one colony between June and September 2013 and 2014, we studied the
age and breeding status composition of birds attending the breeding colony and scored
moult of their body (breast and upper-neck), wing and tail feathers. We found that in addition to breeders (n = 165), 57.6% of the birds (n = 389) attending the colony were 4- to
10-year-old immatures (n = 132) and adult sabbatical shearwaters (n = 92). Sabbaticals
and 8- to 10-year-old immatures (n = 28) were present at the colony during incubation,
whereas only three sabbatical birds and no 8- to 10-year-old immatures were captured in
late chick-rearing. Conversely, 4- to 7-year-old immatures arrived later in the season but
were still present in late chick-rearing. Sabbatical and 8- to 10-year-old immatures were
moulting body feathers at the same time as adult breeders, whereas, among 4- to 7-year-old
immatures, older birds moulted earlier than younger birds. A larger proportion of sabbatical
birds were replacing tail feathers compared with adult breeders. However, there was no evidence that sabbaticals or 8- to 10-year-old immatures differed in wing moult from adult
breeders until August. Overall, our study shows that colony attendance by non-breeding
adults and immatures is widespread in this population. The synchronous moult schedule of
flight and body feathers across age groups at different life-history stages may suggest that
this aspect of moult is controlled by environmental conditions.
Description
Keywords
Calonectris borealis Moulting time Non-breeder Prospecting Seabird
Citation
Campioni, L., Catry, P., Bolumar Roda, S., Alonso, H., & Granadeiro, J. P. (2023). Colony attendance and moult pattern of Cory’s Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) differing in breeding status and age. Ibis. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13291
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd