Foraging Ecology and Migration of Antarctic skuas

Antragsteller

Dr. Hans-Ulrich Peter 
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
Institut für Ökologie
Arbeitsgruppe Polar - und Ornitho-Ökologie

Projektbeschreibung

To understand how Antarctic seabirds respond to local and regional climatic changes, we need to gain a detailed knowledge of their distribution ranges during the breeding and non-breeding period especially, as well as the resources they rely on during these times and their reproduction performance. The project aims to continue detailed investigations of the spatial and temporal resource use of Antarctic skuas. In particular, migration and sex-specific foraging patterns will be linked with polar ecosystems. The analysis of stage-dependent regional and local resource use and its influence on reproduction performance will allow future predictions on how changes in environmental conditions affect skua populations. The proposed study will use a combined approach of tracking migrating birds by different data loggers, non-invasive methods for determination of past and present diets by stable isotope analysis and direct food samples, along with standardised methods for measuring reproduction performance. Thus, this combination of different ecological techniques will give a detailed insight into the interplay of temporal distribution of Antarctic seabird, their foraging and reproduction.

Projektergebnisse

DFG-Verfahren: Infrastruktur-Schwerpunktprogramme

Internationaler Bezug: Antarktis

Förderung von 2007 bis 2011