Breeding seasons of seabirds at Europa Island (southern Mozambique Channel) in relation to seasonal changes in the marine environment

Abstract

Tropical seabirds have evolved a wide range of breeding regimes to fit with their local environment. The western Indian Ocean shows various oceanic situations, providing opportunities to link variations in breeding phenology with variations of the environment. The breeding seasons of seabirds at Europa Island (Mozambique Channel, western Indian Ocean) are analysed. Three oceanic, tuna-associated species (the sooty tern Sterna fuscata, the red-footed booby Sula sula, and Audubon's shearwater Puffinus lherminieri) breed during austral winter (June–October), whereas the red-tailed tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda breeds during austral summer (November–April). During winter, sea-surface temperatures are the lowest, subtropical waters are the closest to the island, and long-line catches of tunas are important. Thermal fronts occur during winter, in relation to the northward shift of subtropical waters. This is known to be favourable to tunas, and I suggest that the winter breeding of sooty terns, red-footed boobies and Audubon's shearwaters is because of an increase in the abundance of tunas. Geographic variations in the breeding phenology of sooty terns in the western Indian Ocean largely support the hypothesis that sooty terns take advantage of cool subtropical waters, when those waters are within their foraging range. The red-tailed tropicbird is a solitary forager, not associated with tunas. During the chick-rearing period, 40% of the mass of food brought to the chicks consists of dolphin-fishes Coryphaena spp. Those warm water, surface dwelling fishes are known to migrate in relation to sea-surface temperatures. Seasonal changes in the occurrence or vulnerability of dolphin-fish in the Mozambique Channel may have favoured a summer breeding regime in red-tailed tropicbirds at Europa Island. Further studies of the marine life of seabirds are needed to test these hypotheses and to learn more about the foraging ecology of tropical seabirds.