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Abstract

Marine predator foraging opportunities are often driven by dynamic physical processes enhancing prey accessibility. Surface slicks are ubiquitous yet ephemeral ocean features where convergent flows accumulate flotsam, concentrating marine organisms and pollutants. Slicks can manifest on the sea surface as meandering lines and seabirds often associate with slicks. Yet, how slicks may influence the fine-scale foraging behavior of seabirds is only coarsely resolved. Here we show that seabirds selectively forage in small-scale slicks. We used aerial drone technology to track surface-foraging terns (Sternidae, 107 tracks) over evolving slicks advected by the mean flow and reshaped by localized turbulence at scales of meters and seconds. Terns were more likely to switch into high-tortuosity foraging behavior when over slicks, with plunge-dive events occurring significantly more often within slicks. As we demonstrate that terns select dynamic slicks for foraging, our approach will also lend itself to interaction studies with pollutants, plumes, and fronts.

Publication Date

2022-11-08

Publication Title

Limnology And Oceanography Letters

Volume

8

Issue

2

Acceptance Date

2022-10-20

Deposit Date

2022-11-13

Embargo Period

2022-11-15

Funding

The authors would like to thank the Bryden Centre for advanced marine and bio-energy research. The Bryden Centre project is supported by the European Union's INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). This research was inspired in part by the SFB TRR 212 (NC3), which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

First Page

286

Last Page

294

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