Dissertation Research: Foraging Ecology of Procellariiform Seabirds: Impacts on Reproduction and Life History

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Foraging behavior of wandering albatrosses is unprecedented among seabirds. They forage throughout the Southern Ocean with trips lasting up to 50 days and covering a total distance of 15,000 kilometers. The PIs will study the energy costs and specific activities associated with foraging in adult wandering albatross. This will allow assessment of the costs associated with specific behaviors so that their importance in reproduction can be evaluated. A variety of tracking techniques will be used such as Isotopic tracers, satellite transmitters along with activity recorders to determine; 1) if parents adjust their energy expenditure by changing their foraging effort, 2) if differences in the use of foraging habitat by males versus females results in different energy expenditures for each, and 3) assessment whether foraging strategies are influenced by flight behavior and, if so, can energy expenditure be linked to differences in flight dynamics. This study will provide a comprehensive view of foraging to address the central question of how foraging strategies impact the ability of adults to rear offspring. In all multicellular organisms, adults must differentially allocate resources toward self-maintenance, growth, and investment in reproduction. All of these life history parameters are intimately linked to foraging. Hence, the unpredictability of foraging in a pelagic environment such as the Southern Ocean has shaped the reproductive strategies of pelagic seabirds like the wandering albatross. This species provides an opportunity to investigate the link between foraging, reproduction, and life history.