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1 July 2010 Factors Influencing the At-Sea Distribution of Cassin's Auklets (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) that Breed in the Channel Islands, California
Josh Adams, John Y. Takekawa, Harry R. Carter, Julie Yee
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Abstract

We used radiotelemetry to evaluate at-sea habitat use by Cassin's Auklets (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) that bred at Prince Island, off southern California, from 1999 through 2001. We used logistic regression to compare paired radiotelemetry (presence) with random (pseudo-absence) location-associated habitat variables derived from (1) satellite remote-sensing of sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a concentration and (2) bathymetry. Compared with random locations within their foraging area and after controlling for distance to colony, odds ratios indicated that Cassin's Auklets with dependent young occurred in relatively shallower, warmer, and chlorophyll-rich water associated with chlorophyll fronts near the insular shelf break. These oceanographic features characterize habitats that support key euphausiid prey (e.g., Thysanoessa spinifera) and also other krill predators. Radiotelemetry combined with satellite remote-sensing of the ocean provides an alternative to vessel-based surveys for evaluating seabird foraging habitats. In the absence of information on the actual distribution, abundance, and, hence, availability of Zooplankton prey for seabirds, environmental factors can serve as proxies to help elucidate distributional patterns of seabirds at sea.

© 2010 by The American Ornithologists' Union. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Rights and Permissions website, http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintInfo.asp.
Josh Adams, John Y. Takekawa, Harry R. Carter, and Julie Yee "Factors Influencing the At-Sea Distribution of Cassin's Auklets (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) that Breed in the Channel Islands, California," The Auk 127(3), 503-513, (1 July 2010). https://doi.org/10.1525/auk.2010.09273
Received: 10 September 2008; Accepted: 1 December 2009; Published: 1 July 2010
KEYWORDS
California Bight
California Current
Cassin's Auklet
logistic regression
Ptychoramphus aleuticus
radiotelemetry
southern seabird foraging habitat
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