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Correlating seabird movements with ocean winds: linking satellite telemetry with ocean scatterometry

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Abstract

Satellite telemetry studies of the movements of seabirds are now common and have revealed impressive flight capabilities and extensive distributions among individuals and species at sea. Linking seabird movements with environmental conditions over vast expanses of the world’s open ocean, however, remains difficult. Seabirds of the order Procellariiformes (e.g., petrels, albatrosses, and shearwaters) depend largely on wind and wave energy for efficient flight. We present a new method for quantifying the movements of far-ranging seabirds in relation to ocean winds measured by the SeaWinds scatterometer onboard the QuikSCAT satellite. We apply vector correlation (as defined by Crosby et al. in J Atm Ocean Tech 10:355–367, 1993) to evaluate how the trajectories (ground speed and direction) for five procellariiform seabirds outfitted with satellite transmitters are related to ocean winds. Individual seabirds (Sooty Shearwater, Pink-footed Shearwater, Hawaiian Petrel, Grey-faced Petrel, and Black-footed Albatross) all traveled predominantly with oblique, isotropic crossing to quartering tail-winds (i.e., 105–165° in relation to birds’ trajectory). For all five seabirds, entire track line trajectories were significantly correlated with co-located winds. Greatest correlations along 8-day path segments were related to wind patterns during birds’ directed, long-range migration (Sooty Shearwater) as well as movements associated with mega-scale meteorological phenomena, including Pacific Basin anticyclones (Hawaiian Petrel, Grey-faced Petrel) and eastward-propagating north Pacific cyclones (Black-footed Albatross). Wind strength and direction are important factors related to the overall movements that delineate the distribution of petrels at sea. We suggest that vector correlation can be used to quantify movements for any marine vertebrate when tracking and environmental data (winds or currents) are of sufficient quality and sample size. Vector correlation coefficients can then be used to assess population—or species-specific variability and used to test specific hypotheses related to how animal movements are associated with fluid environments.

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Notes

  1. We consider the incidental angle of the wind as it touches a bird traveling in the forward direction such that wind angles 105–165° are equivalent to winds 195–255°; throughout, we refer to the incidental angles between 0 and 180° a convention that is independent of left- versus right-lateral incidence. See Fig. 4 for a graphical explanation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank L. Breaker and E. McPhee-Shaw for enthusiastic discussions and useful contributions. P. Hodem and K. D. Hyrenbach provided PFSH data, P. Lyver provided GFPE data; BFAL data were supplied as part of a collaborative effort on behalf of Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge, HAPE data were supplied as part of a collaborative effort on behalf of US Geological Survey (USGS) Western Ecological Research Center, D. G. Ainley (HT Harvey and Associates), H. Friefeld (US Fish and Wildlife Service), C. Bailey and J. Tamayose (Haleakala National Park), and J. Penniman (Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources); and SOSH data were supported in part by Moss Landing Marine Labs, USGS, and UC Santa Cruz Tagging of Pacific Pelagics. C. MacLeod kindly provided assistance with programming in R. QuikSCAT. Data are produced by remote sensing systems and sponsored by the NASA Ocean Vector Winds Science Team. QSCAT data are available at www.remss.com. Previous drafts of this paper benefited from comments and suggestions provided by H. Moller, D. G. Ainley, J. Yee, K. Phillips, and four anonymous reviewers. The use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

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  1. Josh Adams

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

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  1. US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, 8272 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing, CA, 95039, USA

    Josh Adams

  2. Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Moss Landing, CA, USA

    Stephanie Flora

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Adams, J., Flora, S. Correlating seabird movements with ocean winds: linking satellite telemetry with ocean scatterometry. Mar Biol 157, 915–929 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1367-y

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