QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online August 31, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 3537-3544 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01198

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JEB Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nevitt, G. Articles by Trathan, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nevitt, G. Articles by Trathan, P. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Testing olfactory foraging strategies in an Antarctic seabird assemblage

Gabrielle Nevitt^1,*, Keith Reid² and Phil Trathan²

¹ Section of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behaviour, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA
² High Cross, British Antarctic Survey, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OET, UK

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: ganevitt{at}ucdavis.edu)

Accepted 19 July 2004

Procellariiform seabirds (petrels, albatrosses and shearwaters) forage over thousands of square kilometres for patchily distributed prey resources. While these birds are known for their large olfactory bulbs and excellent sense of smell, how they use odour cues to locate prey patches in the vast ocean is not well understood. Here, we investigate species-specific responses to 3-methyl pyrazine in a sub-Antarctic species assemblage near South Georgia Island (54°00 ' S, 36°00 ' W). Pyrazines are scented compounds found in macerated Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), a primary prey item for many seabird species in this region. To examine behavioural attraction to this odour, we presented birds with either scented or `unscented' vegetable oil slicks at sea. As a positive control for our experiments, we also compared birds' responses to a general olfactory attractant, herring oil. Responses to pyrazine were both highly species specific and consistent with results from earlier studies investigating responses to crude krill extracts. For example, Cape petrels (Daption capense), giant petrels (Macronectes sp.) and white-chinned petrels (Procellaria aequinoctialis) were sighted at least 1.8–4 times as often at pyrazine-scented slicks than at control slicks. Black-browed albatrosses (Diomedea melanophris) were only sighted at pyrazine-scented slicks and never at control slicks. Wilson's storm-petrels (Oceanites oceanicus), black-bellied storm-petrels (Fregetta tropica), great shearwaters (Puffinus gravis) and prions (Pachyptila sp.) were sighted with equal frequency at control and pyrazine-scented slicks. As expected, responses to herring oil were more common. With the exception of great shearwaters (Puffinus gravis), each of these species was sighted up to five times as often at slicks scented with herring oil compared with control slicks. Together, the results support the hypothesis that Antarctic procellariiforms use species-specific foraging strategies that are inter-dependent and more complex than simply tracking prey by scent.

Key words: procellariiform seabird, olfaction, smell, odour cue, pyrazine, petrel, albatross, shearwater

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

Related articles in JEB:

VIEW TO A KRILL

Katharine Arney
JEB 2004 207: ii. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. B. Cunningham, V. Strauss, and P. G. Ryan African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) can detect dimethyl sulphide, a prey-related odour J. Exp. Biol., October 1, 2008; 211(19): 3123 - 3127. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. A. Nevitt Sensory ecology on the high seas: the odor world of the procellariiform seabirds J. Exp. Biol., June 1, 2008; 211(11): 1706 - 1713. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. A. Nevitt, M. Losekoot, and H. Weimerskirch From the Cover: Chemical Ecology Special Feature: Evidence for olfactory search in wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans PNAS, March 25, 2008; 105(12): 4576 - 4581. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. W. O'Dwyer, A. L. Ackerman, and G. A. Nevitt Examining the development of individual recognition in a burrow-nesting procellariiform, the Leach's storm-petrel J. Exp. Biol., February 1, 2008; 211(3): 337 - 340. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Bonadonna, S. Caro, P. Jouventin, and G. A. Nevitt Evidence that blue petrel, Halobaena caerulea, fledglings can detect and orient to dimethyl sulfide J. Exp. Biol., June 1, 2006; 209(11): 2165 - 2169. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. A Nevitt and F. Bonadonna Sensitivity to dimethyl sulphide suggests a mechanism for olfactory navigation by seabirds Biol Lett, September 22, 2005; 1(3): 303 - 305. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Arney VIEW TO A KRILL J. Exp. Biol., September 15, 2004; 207(20): ii - ii. [Full Text] [PDF]