Light pollution critically affects fledglings of burrow-nesting seabirds, leading to massive mort... more Light pollution critically affects fledglings of burrow-nesting seabirds, leading to massive mortality events. The successful management of this pollutant depends upon a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing visual sensitivity and corresponding behaviours towards light. Factors shaping the development of the visual system could account for variation in seabirds' vulnerability to light pollution. We investigated how Cory's shearwater chicks respond to selected contrasting artificial light stimuli. Chicks were subjected to blue and red light treatments, and repeatedly tested throughout the nestling period. We analysed behavioural responses (number, timing and orientation of reactions) to determine how age, exposure to experimental light stimuli and spectra influenced the onset of visually guided behaviours, thus inferring drivers of vulnerability to light pollution. Repetitive exposure to light significantly increased the number of reactions, and chicks predom...
This article documents the addition of 205 microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Re... more This article documents the addition of 205 microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Bagassa guianensis, Bulweria bulwerii, Camelus bactrianus, Chaenogobius annularis, Creontiades dilutus, Diachasmimorpha tryoni, Dioscorea alata, Euhrychiopsis lecontei, Gmelina arborea, Haliotis discus hannai, Hirtella physophora, Melanaphis sacchari, Munida isos, Thaumastocoris peregrinus and Tuberolachnus salignus. These loci were cross‐tested on the following species: Halobaena caerulea, Procellaria aequinoctialis, Oceanodroma monteiroi, Camelus ferus, Creontiades pacificus, Dioscorea rotundata, Dioscorea praehensilis, Dioscorea abyssinica, Dioscorea nummularia, Dioscorea transversa, Dioscorea esculenta, Dioscorea pentaphylla, Dioscorea trifida, Hirtella bicornis, Hirtella glandulosa, Licania alba, Licania canescens, Licania membranaceae, Couepia guianensis and 7 undescribed Thaumastocoris species.
Trait-based approaches that complement taxonomy-based studies have increased in popularity among ... more Trait-based approaches that complement taxonomy-based studies have increased in popularity among the scientific community over the last decades. The collection of biological and ecological characteristics of species (i.e., traits) provides insight into species and ecosystem vulnerability to environmental and anthropogenic changes, as well as ecosystem functioning. Here, we present the FUN Azores trait database, describe our approach, evaluate its scope, compare it to other marine trait databases, and explore the spatial distribution of its traits with "functional maps." While most of the available trait databases to date contain essential information to understand the functional diversity of a taxonomic or functional group, our ecosystem-based approach provides a comprehensive assessment of diverse fauna (i.e., meio-, macro-, and megafauna) from benthic and pelagic environments in the Azores Marine Park; including ridges, seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and the overlying water column. We used a collaborative approach involving 30 researchers with different expertise to develop the FUN Azores database, which contains compiled data on 14 traits representing morphological, behavioral, and life history characteristics for 1,210 species across 10 phyla. The "functional maps" show a distinct distribution of the two most common size classes, suggesting different communities with different functionalities. The following traits had the best scoring coverage (i.e., >95% of
This article documents the addition of 171 microsatellite marker loci and 27 pairs of single nucl... more This article documents the addition of 171 microsatellite marker loci and 27 pairs of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Bombus pauloensis, Cephalorhynchus heavisidii, Cercospora sojina, Harpyhaliaetus coronatus, Hordeum vulgare, Lachnolaimus maximus, Oceanodroma monteiroi, Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, Rhea americana, Salmo salar, Salmo trutta, Schistocephalus solidus, Sousa plumbea and Tursiops aduncus. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Aquila heliaca, Bulweria bulwerii, Buteo buteo, Buteo swainsoni, Falco rusticolus, Haliaeetus albicilla, Halobaena caerulea, Hieraaetus fasciatus, Oceanodroma castro, Puccinia graminis f. sp. Tritici, Puccinia triticina, Rhea pennata and Schistocephalus pungitii. This article also documents the addition of 27 sequencing primer pairs for Puffinus baroli and Bulweria bulwerii and cross-testing
The Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus (Brünnich, 1764) is a north Atlantic seabird which mainly b... more The Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus (Brünnich, 1764) is a north Atlantic seabird which mainly breeds in Europe. In the Azores, its breeding colonies occur exclusively on the islands from the western group (Flores and Corvo). Here, we report the first breeding attempt observed on Vila islet, Santa Maria (the easternmost island of the archipelago, situated circa 600 km from Flores and Corvo). Our observation confirms that Manx Shearwaters can settle far from their usual breeding localities and enhances the importance of Vila islet for the Azorean marine avifauna.
Climate change affects timing of reproduction in many bird species, but few studies have investig... more Climate change affects timing of reproduction in many bird species, but few studies have investigated its influence on annual reproductive output. Here, we assess changes in the annual production of young by female breeders in 201 populations of 104 bird species (N = 745,962 clutches) covering all continents between 1970 and 2019. Overall, average offspring production has declined in recent decades, but considerable differences were found among species and populations. A total of 56.7% of populations showed a declining trend in offspring production (significant in 17.4%), whereas 43.3% exhibited an increase (significant in 10.4%). The results show that climatic changes affect offspring production through compounded effects on ecological and life history traits of species. Migratory and larger-bodied species experienced reduced offspring production with increasing temperatures during the chick-rearing period, whereas smaller-bodied, sedentary species tended to produce more offspring....
At-sea distribution and trophic ecology of small seabird species (i.e.<100 g) is far less know... more At-sea distribution and trophic ecology of small seabird species (i.e.<100 g) is far less known when compared to their larger relatives. We studied the habitat use (spatial ecology) and isotopic niches (trophic ecology) of the endangered Monteiro's storm-petrel Hydrobates monteiroi during the incubation and chick-rearing periods of 2013. There was a sexual foraging segregation of Monteiro's storm-petrels during the breeding period (tracking data) but also during the non-breeding stage (stable isotope analysis). Females took advantage of their longer wings to forage over the shallower Mid-Atlantic ridge (MAR) north of Azores, under colder and windier regimes when compared to males, who mostly exploited northern deep waters comparatively closer to the breeding colony. Between-sex differences in the spatial distribution were more obvious during the incubation period, with the overlap in their distribution increasing during the chick-rearing phase. There was also an isotopic segregation between sexes both during the previous breeding and the non-breeding stages, with females exhibiting a narrower, lower level isotopic niche when compared to males. Though the distribution patterns reported here should be useful for the at-sea conservation of this endangered species, future research should focus on (1) performing year-round tracking to map the species' distribution during the non-breeding period and (2) gathering multi-year tracking information to understand the effect of inter-annual environmental stochasticity on the foraging choices and trophic habits of the species.
The behavior of skuas and jaegers (subfamily Stercorarinae) when kleptoparasitizing other seabird... more The behavior of skuas and jaegers (subfamily Stercorarinae) when kleptoparasitizing other seabirds has been studied in detail at breeding colonies (Furness 1987a, b; Maxson and Bernstein 1982; Le Corre and Jouventin 1997), at a coastal estuary along a migration route in Britain (Taylor 1979), in boundary currents off Peru and south Africa (Duffy 1982), and in pelagic waters of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (Spear and Ainley 1993). The size of the host is usually smaller than that of the kleptoparasite. Indeed, only 9 of the 40 host species recorded had a mean body mass greater than that of the parasite (mean body mass of the host was 1.1 to 2.4 times greater than that of the kleptoparasite; Table 1). Attacks by skuas on giant-petrels and albatrosses have not been described. Therefore, we were surprised to see attempted kleptoparasitism by Brown Skuas (form from the Crozet and Kerguelen archipelagoes Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi sensu Devillers 1978, Mailing-Olsen and Larsson 1997; but see Peter et al. 1994) on a Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans) and a Northern Giant-Petrel (Macronectes hallO, because these hosts are 5.9 and 2.6 times larger, respectively, than the skuas (Table 1). We also report an attempted kleptoparasitism by a Brown Skua on a Light-mantled Albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) in the Kerguelen Archipelago, and four attempts by Brown Skuas (the Amsterdam Island [Indian Ocean] form, which is similar in size to the Tristan Brown Skua [C. a. hamiltoni]) on Yellow-nosed Albatrosses (Thalassarche chlororhynchos bassi) adjacent to the primary breeding colony of the latter at Amsterdam Island. The kleptoparasitism attempts on the Wandering Albatross and Northern Giant-Petrel were observed while we surveyed seabirds from the R/V Marion Dufrense in the southwestern Indian Ocean. The incident involving the albatross happened on 9 November 1997 at 44ø09'S, 51ø26'E (238 km from the Crozet Islands), and that involving the giant-petrel occurred on 14 November 1997 at 49ø21'S, 66ø43'E
Results are provided of a population genetics study using the starch gel electrophoresis techniqu... more Results are provided of a population genetics study using the starch gel electrophoresis technique and concerning 22 species of seabirds from four localities of the Southern Ocean: Antarctic Continent (Adelie Land), two subantarctic islands (Crozet and Kerguelen Islands) and one subtropical island (Amsterdam Island). Concerning genetic differentiation, species classification is reviewed using data from electrophoresis: for example, populations of King Penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus from Kerguelen and Crozet Islands show a high level of isolation. For five species, electrophoretic data are compared with the preliminary results of a mitochondrial DNA study. At a higher taxonomic level, storm petrels Hydrobatidae are markedly distant from the other three families of Procellariiformes. Concerning heterozygosity, genetic variability is low in the Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans, low on average for seabirds in general, and increases on average towards higher latitudes. (Resume d...
The patterns of population divergence of mid-latitude marine birds are impacted by only a few bio... more The patterns of population divergence of mid-latitude marine birds are impacted by only a few biogeographic barriers to dispersal and the effect of intrinsic factors, such as fidelity to natal colonies or wintering grounds, may become more conspicuous. Here we describe, for the first time, the phylogeographic patterns and historical demography of Bulwer’s petrel Bulweria bulwerii and provide new insights regarding the drivers of species diversification in the marine environment. We sampled Bulwer’s petrels from the main breeding colonies and used a statistical phylogeography approach based on surveying nuclear and mitochondrial loci (~ 9100 bp) to study its mechanisms of global diversification. We uncovered three highly differentiated groups including the Western Pacific, the Central Pacific and the Atlantic. The older divergence occurred within the Pacific Ocean, ca. 850,000 ya, and since then the W Pacific group has been evolving in isolation. Conversely, divergence between the Ce...
1. Os Açores são um arquipélago isolado de nove ilhas oceânicas, pertence à região biogeográfica ... more 1. Os Açores são um arquipélago isolado de nove ilhas oceânicas, pertence à região biogeográfica da Macaronésia e está entre as regiões mais ricas em fungos, plantas e animais da Europa. Este capítulo destaca o que sabemos sobre os fungos, a fauna e a flora dos habitats terrestres, dulçaquícolas e marinhos dos Açores. 2. Neste capítulo, são apresentadas as estimativas do número total de espécies e subespécies conhecidas actualmente nos Açores. Todos os grupos taxonómicos terrestres mais importantes foram analisados: fungos, líquenes, diatomáceas dulçaquícolas, briófitos (musgos, hepáticas e antocerotas), plantas vasculares (licófitas, fetos, gimnospérmicas e angiospérmicas), platelmintes (vermes), nemátodos, anelídeos (minhocas), moluscos terrestres (lesmas e caracóis), artrópodes (insectos, aracnídeos, milípedes, etc.) e vertebrados (peixes de água doce, anfíbios, répteis, aves e mamíferos). A presente obra inclui também espécies do ambiente marinho, como as algas (macroalgas), a m...
A secção UAciência é coordenada pelo Professor Universitário Armindo Rodrigues.Apesar de 90% das ... more A secção UAciência é coordenada pelo Professor Universitário Armindo Rodrigues.Apesar de 90% das espécies de aves serem socialmente monogâmicas, ocorrem copulas fora do casal, que poderão eventualmente resultar em paternidades extraconjugais, as quais já foram observadas em mais de 140 espécies. Considera-se que as copulas fora do casal permitem as fêmeas ajustar a escolha do seu macho social (ou seja, o macho com quem vão ficar desde a formação do casal ate a emancipação das crias) e aos machos que não conseguiram um ninho evitar perder um ano de reprodução, sobretudo quando uma disponibilidade baixa em sítios de nidificação constrange a escolha do parceiro social (nesta altura, quase qualquer macho pode ser escolhido desde que possua um ninho). […], um estudo de genética molecular (utilizando marcadores microssatélites) em 69 famílias de cagarros (os dois progenitores sociais e a sua única cria, uma vez que o tamanho da postura e de um ovo só) neste ilhéu em 2002 e 2003, revelou a...
Total number of individuals captured by colony, breeding status, sex and year; and M-array summar... more Total number of individuals captured by colony, breeding status, sex and year; and M-array summaries of the capture–mark–recapture data set by colony and sex.; Details about the model definition used.; Results of Goodness-Of-Fit (GOF) tests for the single-state Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS), with colony (Vila and M.Clara) and sex (females, males and non-sexed) as groups.; Description of the results found for transitions probabilities among breeding statuses obtained from Model 10
As biparental care is crucial for breeding success in Procellariiformes seabirds (i.e., albatross... more As biparental care is crucial for breeding success in Procellariiformes seabirds (i.e., albatrosses and petrels), these species are expected to be choosy during pair formation. However, the choice of partners is limited in small-sized populations, which might lead to random pairing. In Procellariiformes, the consequences of such limitations for mating strategies have been examined in a single species. Here, we studied mate choice in another Procellariiforme, Bulwer's petrel Bulweria bulwerii, in the Azores (ca 70 breeding pairs), where the species has suffered a dramatic population decline. We based our approach on both a 11-year demographic survey (capture-mark-recapture) and a genetic approach (microsatellites, n = 127 individuals). The genetic data suggest that this small population is not inbred and did not experience a genetic bottleneck. Moreover, pairing occurred randomly with respect to genetic relatedness, we detected no extrapair parentage (n = 35 offspring), and pair ...
Pelagic birds, which wander in the open sea most of the year and often nest on small remote ocean... more Pelagic birds, which wander in the open sea most of the year and often nest on small remote oceanic islands, are able to pinpoint their breeding colony even within an apparently featureless environment, such as the open ocean. The mechanisms underlying their surprising navigational performance are still unknown. In order to investigate the nature of the cues exploited for oceanic navigation, Cory's shearwaters, Calonectris borealis, nesting in the Azores were displaced and released in open ocean at about 800 km from their colony, after being subjected to sensory manipulation. While magnetically disturbed shearwaters showed unaltered navigational performance and behaved similarly to unmanipulated control birds, the shearwaters deprived of their sense of smell were dramatically impaired in orientation and homing. Our data show that seabirds use olfactory cues not only to find their food but also to navigate over vast distances in the ocean.
Light pollution critically affects fledglings of burrow-nesting seabirds, leading to massive mort... more Light pollution critically affects fledglings of burrow-nesting seabirds, leading to massive mortality events. The successful management of this pollutant depends upon a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing visual sensitivity and corresponding behaviours towards light. Factors shaping the development of the visual system could account for variation in seabirds' vulnerability to light pollution. We investigated how Cory's shearwater chicks respond to selected contrasting artificial light stimuli. Chicks were subjected to blue and red light treatments, and repeatedly tested throughout the nestling period. We analysed behavioural responses (number, timing and orientation of reactions) to determine how age, exposure to experimental light stimuli and spectra influenced the onset of visually guided behaviours, thus inferring drivers of vulnerability to light pollution. Repetitive exposure to light significantly increased the number of reactions, and chicks predom...
This article documents the addition of 205 microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Re... more This article documents the addition of 205 microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Bagassa guianensis, Bulweria bulwerii, Camelus bactrianus, Chaenogobius annularis, Creontiades dilutus, Diachasmimorpha tryoni, Dioscorea alata, Euhrychiopsis lecontei, Gmelina arborea, Haliotis discus hannai, Hirtella physophora, Melanaphis sacchari, Munida isos, Thaumastocoris peregrinus and Tuberolachnus salignus. These loci were cross‐tested on the following species: Halobaena caerulea, Procellaria aequinoctialis, Oceanodroma monteiroi, Camelus ferus, Creontiades pacificus, Dioscorea rotundata, Dioscorea praehensilis, Dioscorea abyssinica, Dioscorea nummularia, Dioscorea transversa, Dioscorea esculenta, Dioscorea pentaphylla, Dioscorea trifida, Hirtella bicornis, Hirtella glandulosa, Licania alba, Licania canescens, Licania membranaceae, Couepia guianensis and 7 undescribed Thaumastocoris species.
Trait-based approaches that complement taxonomy-based studies have increased in popularity among ... more Trait-based approaches that complement taxonomy-based studies have increased in popularity among the scientific community over the last decades. The collection of biological and ecological characteristics of species (i.e., traits) provides insight into species and ecosystem vulnerability to environmental and anthropogenic changes, as well as ecosystem functioning. Here, we present the FUN Azores trait database, describe our approach, evaluate its scope, compare it to other marine trait databases, and explore the spatial distribution of its traits with "functional maps." While most of the available trait databases to date contain essential information to understand the functional diversity of a taxonomic or functional group, our ecosystem-based approach provides a comprehensive assessment of diverse fauna (i.e., meio-, macro-, and megafauna) from benthic and pelagic environments in the Azores Marine Park; including ridges, seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and the overlying water column. We used a collaborative approach involving 30 researchers with different expertise to develop the FUN Azores database, which contains compiled data on 14 traits representing morphological, behavioral, and life history characteristics for 1,210 species across 10 phyla. The "functional maps" show a distinct distribution of the two most common size classes, suggesting different communities with different functionalities. The following traits had the best scoring coverage (i.e., >95% of
This article documents the addition of 171 microsatellite marker loci and 27 pairs of single nucl... more This article documents the addition of 171 microsatellite marker loci and 27 pairs of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Bombus pauloensis, Cephalorhynchus heavisidii, Cercospora sojina, Harpyhaliaetus coronatus, Hordeum vulgare, Lachnolaimus maximus, Oceanodroma monteiroi, Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, Rhea americana, Salmo salar, Salmo trutta, Schistocephalus solidus, Sousa plumbea and Tursiops aduncus. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Aquila heliaca, Bulweria bulwerii, Buteo buteo, Buteo swainsoni, Falco rusticolus, Haliaeetus albicilla, Halobaena caerulea, Hieraaetus fasciatus, Oceanodroma castro, Puccinia graminis f. sp. Tritici, Puccinia triticina, Rhea pennata and Schistocephalus pungitii. This article also documents the addition of 27 sequencing primer pairs for Puffinus baroli and Bulweria bulwerii and cross-testing
The Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus (Brünnich, 1764) is a north Atlantic seabird which mainly b... more The Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus (Brünnich, 1764) is a north Atlantic seabird which mainly breeds in Europe. In the Azores, its breeding colonies occur exclusively on the islands from the western group (Flores and Corvo). Here, we report the first breeding attempt observed on Vila islet, Santa Maria (the easternmost island of the archipelago, situated circa 600 km from Flores and Corvo). Our observation confirms that Manx Shearwaters can settle far from their usual breeding localities and enhances the importance of Vila islet for the Azorean marine avifauna.
Climate change affects timing of reproduction in many bird species, but few studies have investig... more Climate change affects timing of reproduction in many bird species, but few studies have investigated its influence on annual reproductive output. Here, we assess changes in the annual production of young by female breeders in 201 populations of 104 bird species (N = 745,962 clutches) covering all continents between 1970 and 2019. Overall, average offspring production has declined in recent decades, but considerable differences were found among species and populations. A total of 56.7% of populations showed a declining trend in offspring production (significant in 17.4%), whereas 43.3% exhibited an increase (significant in 10.4%). The results show that climatic changes affect offspring production through compounded effects on ecological and life history traits of species. Migratory and larger-bodied species experienced reduced offspring production with increasing temperatures during the chick-rearing period, whereas smaller-bodied, sedentary species tended to produce more offspring....
At-sea distribution and trophic ecology of small seabird species (i.e.<100 g) is far less know... more At-sea distribution and trophic ecology of small seabird species (i.e.<100 g) is far less known when compared to their larger relatives. We studied the habitat use (spatial ecology) and isotopic niches (trophic ecology) of the endangered Monteiro's storm-petrel Hydrobates monteiroi during the incubation and chick-rearing periods of 2013. There was a sexual foraging segregation of Monteiro's storm-petrels during the breeding period (tracking data) but also during the non-breeding stage (stable isotope analysis). Females took advantage of their longer wings to forage over the shallower Mid-Atlantic ridge (MAR) north of Azores, under colder and windier regimes when compared to males, who mostly exploited northern deep waters comparatively closer to the breeding colony. Between-sex differences in the spatial distribution were more obvious during the incubation period, with the overlap in their distribution increasing during the chick-rearing phase. There was also an isotopic segregation between sexes both during the previous breeding and the non-breeding stages, with females exhibiting a narrower, lower level isotopic niche when compared to males. Though the distribution patterns reported here should be useful for the at-sea conservation of this endangered species, future research should focus on (1) performing year-round tracking to map the species' distribution during the non-breeding period and (2) gathering multi-year tracking information to understand the effect of inter-annual environmental stochasticity on the foraging choices and trophic habits of the species.
The behavior of skuas and jaegers (subfamily Stercorarinae) when kleptoparasitizing other seabird... more The behavior of skuas and jaegers (subfamily Stercorarinae) when kleptoparasitizing other seabirds has been studied in detail at breeding colonies (Furness 1987a, b; Maxson and Bernstein 1982; Le Corre and Jouventin 1997), at a coastal estuary along a migration route in Britain (Taylor 1979), in boundary currents off Peru and south Africa (Duffy 1982), and in pelagic waters of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (Spear and Ainley 1993). The size of the host is usually smaller than that of the kleptoparasite. Indeed, only 9 of the 40 host species recorded had a mean body mass greater than that of the parasite (mean body mass of the host was 1.1 to 2.4 times greater than that of the kleptoparasite; Table 1). Attacks by skuas on giant-petrels and albatrosses have not been described. Therefore, we were surprised to see attempted kleptoparasitism by Brown Skuas (form from the Crozet and Kerguelen archipelagoes Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi sensu Devillers 1978, Mailing-Olsen and Larsson 1997; but see Peter et al. 1994) on a Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans) and a Northern Giant-Petrel (Macronectes hallO, because these hosts are 5.9 and 2.6 times larger, respectively, than the skuas (Table 1). We also report an attempted kleptoparasitism by a Brown Skua on a Light-mantled Albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) in the Kerguelen Archipelago, and four attempts by Brown Skuas (the Amsterdam Island [Indian Ocean] form, which is similar in size to the Tristan Brown Skua [C. a. hamiltoni]) on Yellow-nosed Albatrosses (Thalassarche chlororhynchos bassi) adjacent to the primary breeding colony of the latter at Amsterdam Island. The kleptoparasitism attempts on the Wandering Albatross and Northern Giant-Petrel were observed while we surveyed seabirds from the R/V Marion Dufrense in the southwestern Indian Ocean. The incident involving the albatross happened on 9 November 1997 at 44ø09'S, 51ø26'E (238 km from the Crozet Islands), and that involving the giant-petrel occurred on 14 November 1997 at 49ø21'S, 66ø43'E
Results are provided of a population genetics study using the starch gel electrophoresis techniqu... more Results are provided of a population genetics study using the starch gel electrophoresis technique and concerning 22 species of seabirds from four localities of the Southern Ocean: Antarctic Continent (Adelie Land), two subantarctic islands (Crozet and Kerguelen Islands) and one subtropical island (Amsterdam Island). Concerning genetic differentiation, species classification is reviewed using data from electrophoresis: for example, populations of King Penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus from Kerguelen and Crozet Islands show a high level of isolation. For five species, electrophoretic data are compared with the preliminary results of a mitochondrial DNA study. At a higher taxonomic level, storm petrels Hydrobatidae are markedly distant from the other three families of Procellariiformes. Concerning heterozygosity, genetic variability is low in the Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans, low on average for seabirds in general, and increases on average towards higher latitudes. (Resume d...
The patterns of population divergence of mid-latitude marine birds are impacted by only a few bio... more The patterns of population divergence of mid-latitude marine birds are impacted by only a few biogeographic barriers to dispersal and the effect of intrinsic factors, such as fidelity to natal colonies or wintering grounds, may become more conspicuous. Here we describe, for the first time, the phylogeographic patterns and historical demography of Bulwer’s petrel Bulweria bulwerii and provide new insights regarding the drivers of species diversification in the marine environment. We sampled Bulwer’s petrels from the main breeding colonies and used a statistical phylogeography approach based on surveying nuclear and mitochondrial loci (~ 9100 bp) to study its mechanisms of global diversification. We uncovered three highly differentiated groups including the Western Pacific, the Central Pacific and the Atlantic. The older divergence occurred within the Pacific Ocean, ca. 850,000 ya, and since then the W Pacific group has been evolving in isolation. Conversely, divergence between the Ce...
1. Os Açores são um arquipélago isolado de nove ilhas oceânicas, pertence à região biogeográfica ... more 1. Os Açores são um arquipélago isolado de nove ilhas oceânicas, pertence à região biogeográfica da Macaronésia e está entre as regiões mais ricas em fungos, plantas e animais da Europa. Este capítulo destaca o que sabemos sobre os fungos, a fauna e a flora dos habitats terrestres, dulçaquícolas e marinhos dos Açores. 2. Neste capítulo, são apresentadas as estimativas do número total de espécies e subespécies conhecidas actualmente nos Açores. Todos os grupos taxonómicos terrestres mais importantes foram analisados: fungos, líquenes, diatomáceas dulçaquícolas, briófitos (musgos, hepáticas e antocerotas), plantas vasculares (licófitas, fetos, gimnospérmicas e angiospérmicas), platelmintes (vermes), nemátodos, anelídeos (minhocas), moluscos terrestres (lesmas e caracóis), artrópodes (insectos, aracnídeos, milípedes, etc.) e vertebrados (peixes de água doce, anfíbios, répteis, aves e mamíferos). A presente obra inclui também espécies do ambiente marinho, como as algas (macroalgas), a m...
A secção UAciência é coordenada pelo Professor Universitário Armindo Rodrigues.Apesar de 90% das ... more A secção UAciência é coordenada pelo Professor Universitário Armindo Rodrigues.Apesar de 90% das espécies de aves serem socialmente monogâmicas, ocorrem copulas fora do casal, que poderão eventualmente resultar em paternidades extraconjugais, as quais já foram observadas em mais de 140 espécies. Considera-se que as copulas fora do casal permitem as fêmeas ajustar a escolha do seu macho social (ou seja, o macho com quem vão ficar desde a formação do casal ate a emancipação das crias) e aos machos que não conseguiram um ninho evitar perder um ano de reprodução, sobretudo quando uma disponibilidade baixa em sítios de nidificação constrange a escolha do parceiro social (nesta altura, quase qualquer macho pode ser escolhido desde que possua um ninho). […], um estudo de genética molecular (utilizando marcadores microssatélites) em 69 famílias de cagarros (os dois progenitores sociais e a sua única cria, uma vez que o tamanho da postura e de um ovo só) neste ilhéu em 2002 e 2003, revelou a...
Total number of individuals captured by colony, breeding status, sex and year; and M-array summar... more Total number of individuals captured by colony, breeding status, sex and year; and M-array summaries of the capture–mark–recapture data set by colony and sex.; Details about the model definition used.; Results of Goodness-Of-Fit (GOF) tests for the single-state Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS), with colony (Vila and M.Clara) and sex (females, males and non-sexed) as groups.; Description of the results found for transitions probabilities among breeding statuses obtained from Model 10
As biparental care is crucial for breeding success in Procellariiformes seabirds (i.e., albatross... more As biparental care is crucial for breeding success in Procellariiformes seabirds (i.e., albatrosses and petrels), these species are expected to be choosy during pair formation. However, the choice of partners is limited in small-sized populations, which might lead to random pairing. In Procellariiformes, the consequences of such limitations for mating strategies have been examined in a single species. Here, we studied mate choice in another Procellariiforme, Bulwer's petrel Bulweria bulwerii, in the Azores (ca 70 breeding pairs), where the species has suffered a dramatic population decline. We based our approach on both a 11-year demographic survey (capture-mark-recapture) and a genetic approach (microsatellites, n = 127 individuals). The genetic data suggest that this small population is not inbred and did not experience a genetic bottleneck. Moreover, pairing occurred randomly with respect to genetic relatedness, we detected no extrapair parentage (n = 35 offspring), and pair ...
Pelagic birds, which wander in the open sea most of the year and often nest on small remote ocean... more Pelagic birds, which wander in the open sea most of the year and often nest on small remote oceanic islands, are able to pinpoint their breeding colony even within an apparently featureless environment, such as the open ocean. The mechanisms underlying their surprising navigational performance are still unknown. In order to investigate the nature of the cues exploited for oceanic navigation, Cory's shearwaters, Calonectris borealis, nesting in the Azores were displaced and released in open ocean at about 800 km from their colony, after being subjected to sensory manipulation. While magnetically disturbed shearwaters showed unaltered navigational performance and behaved similarly to unmanipulated control birds, the shearwaters deprived of their sense of smell were dramatically impaired in orientation and homing. Our data show that seabirds use olfactory cues not only to find their food but also to navigate over vast distances in the ocean.
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Papers by Joël Bried