Sooty Shearwaters in the California Current: 2007
A project of Pacific Procellariid Research Consortium in conjunction with the partners and sponsors detailed below.
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| Name | Species | Life Stage | Release Date | Last Location | Days Transmitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66531 | Sooty Shearwater | Sub-adult to Adult | 2007-08-10 | 2007-11-28 | 110 |
| 66535 | Sooty Shearwater | Sub adult to Adult | 2007-08-10 | 2007-11-07 | 89 |
| 77031 | Sooty Shearwater | Sub-adult to Adult | 2007-08-11 | 2007-09-18 | 38 |
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Introduction
Sooty Shearwaters are the most abundant seabird in the Pacific Ocean numbering in the 10s of millions. As top-predators in the California Current System (CCS), we propose that information derived from the study of shearwater ecology can provide insight into the function, health, and variability of our coastal marine ecosystems. We currently are in our fourth season tracking the movements and migration of Sooty Shearwaters and are focusing our efforts at one of their principal wintering (austral) areas within the coastal transition zone of the CCS. Monterey Bay and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) encompass a unique diversity of vertebrate predators: Some reside here year-round and many others visit seasonally from as far away as New Zealand and Chile. It is the MBNMS's tremendous biomass of forage species such as krill, anchovy, sardine, and market squid that support such diverse and abundant fish, seabird, and marine mammal communities.
Our primary goals are:
1. To understand and quantify the shearwater's use of coastal marine habitats within the California Current,
2. Determine seasonal and interannual patterns in body mass, diet, and progression of feather molt,
3. Measure the connectivity of West Coast National Marine Sanctuaries and the network of new and proposed Marine Protected Areas, and
4. Determine the timing and route for return migrations to colonies in the Southern Hemisphere: How are these potentially influenced by wind and future climate change?
For more information about science and monitoring in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary see: http://www.mbnms-simon.org/
Project Partners
Our 2007 effort is supported by USGS Western Ecological Research Center and California State University, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. Our research activities have been reviewed and approved by the San Jose State University Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol #807), and are permited by California Department of Fish and Game (SCP-6443) and US Geological Survey Bird Banding Lab (Permit #22911).
