Olfactory Foraging by Procellariiform Seabirds at South Georgia

许多原海鸟或“管鼻”海鸟(即海燕、信天翁和剪毛鸟)在辽阔无特色的海域觅食，寻找零星分布的南极磷虾(Euphausia Superba)。这些鸟有高度发达的嗅觉系统，并被鱼腥味所吸引。最近的研究还表明，几个南极物种会被二甲基硫化物吸引，二甲基硫化物是一种与高初级生产力有关的气味。有人提出，DMS和其他天然芳香物质构成了海鸟用来觅食的海洋嗅觉景观。这一景观的峰谷为鸟类提供了关于它们是否在可能找到食物的地区的详细、即时的信息。尽管已经对这一景观的一个组成部分(DMS)进行了密集的研究，但还缺乏关于与磷虾更密切相关的其他潜在嗅觉线索的详细研究。例如，目前尚不清楚南极原贝类海鸟是否能直接闻到磷虾的气味，但这一信息对于开发更广泛的嗅觉觅食模型是必要的。这一框架将对探索磷虾分布和密度的变化如何影响海鸟在多年研究中的觅食成功至关重要--这是与长期管理相关的问题。这项研究的目的是调查南极原丝状海鸟对磷虾相关气味的嗅觉反应的物种差异。这项工作将与英国南极调查局(BAS)远洋系外系统核心计划合作进行。这是一项在南乔治亚州附近进行的多年生态研究，那里的原贝类海鸟一直受到密切监测。因此，嗅觉数据将与南乔治亚州附近鸟岛当地正在进行的实时饮食采样联系在一起，并将被用于协助制定管理和开发该地区海洋资源的战略。

Many procellariiforms or "tube-nosed" seabirds (i.e., the petrels, albatrosses and shearwaters) forage over vast expanses of featureless ocean waters in search of a patchily-distributed food resource, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). These birds have highly developed olfactory systems and are attracted to fishy-smelling odors. Recent work has also shown that several Antarctic species are attracted to dimethyl sulfide, an odor associated with high primary productivity. It has been proposed that DMS and other natural aromatics make up an olfactory landscape over the ocean that seabirds use to forage. The peaks and valleys of this landscape provide birds with detailed, instantaneous information about whether they are in areas where they are likely to find food. Although there has been intensive work investigating one component of this landscape (DMS), detailed studies about other potential olfactory cues more closely associated with krill are lacking. It is not known, for example, whether Antarctic procellariiform seabirds can smell krill directly, but this information is necessary to develop models of olfactory foraging on a broader scale.This framework will be critical in exploring how changes in krill distribution and density might affect the foraging success of seabirds over multi-year studies - questions pertinent to long-term management. The objective of this study is to investigate species-specific differences in olfactory responses by Antarctic procellariiform seabirds to krill-related odors. This work will be conducted in collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Peleagic Exosystems Core Program. This is a multi-year ecological study being carried out near South Georgia where procellariiform seabirds have been closely monitored. Olfactory data will thus be linked to real time diet sampling being done locally at Bird Island near South Georgia, and will be used to assist in developing strategies for the management and exploitation of marine resources in the area.