ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5647-406X
Current Organisation
Australian Antarctic Division
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Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.140390
Abstract: Using body mass and breeding data of in idual penguins collected continuously over 7 years (2002–2008), we examined carry-over effects of winter body mass on timing of laying and breeding success in a resident seabird, the little penguin ( Eudyptula minor ). The austral winter month of July consistently had the lowest rate of colony attendance, which confirmed our expectation that penguins work hard to find resources at this time between breeding seasons. Contrary to our expectation, body mass in winter (July) was equal or higher than in the period before (‘moult-recovery’) and after (‘pre-breeding’) in 5 of 7 years for males and in all 7 years for females. We provided evidence of a carry-over effect of body mass from winter to breeding females and males with higher body mass in winter were more likely to breed early and males with higher body mass in winter were likely to breed successfully. Sex differences might relate to sex-specific breeding tasks, where females may use their winter reserves to invest in egg-laying, whereas males use their winter reserves to sustain the longer fasts ashore during courtship. Our findings suggest that resident seabirds like little penguins can also benefit from a carry-over effect of winter body mass on subsequent breeding.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2016
DOI: 10.1890/14-2124.1
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-06-2020
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 15-08-2019
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS13036
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 14-07-2022
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-1475466/V1
Abstract: Ecological theory predicts niche partitioning between high level predators living in sympatry as a strategy to minimise the selective pressure of competition. Accordingly, male Australian fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus and New Zealand fur seals A. forsteri that live in sympatry should partition their broad niches (in habitat and trophic dimensions) in order to coexist. However, at the northern end of their distributions in Australia both are recolonising their historic range after a long absence due to over-exploitation, and their small population sizes suggest competition should be weak and allow overlap in niche space. We found some niche overlap, yet clear partitioning in diet trophic level (δ 15 N values from vibrissae), movement space (horizontal and vertical telemetry data) and circadian activity patterns (timing of es) between males of each species, suggesting competition remained an active driver of niche partitioning among in iduals in these small, peripheral populations. Consistent with in idual specialisation theory, broad niches of populations were associated with high levels of in idual specialisation for both species, despite putative low competition. Specialists in isotopic space were not necessarily specialists in movement space, further emphasising their erse in idual strategies for niche partitioning. Males of each species displayed distinct foraging modes, with Australian fur seals primarily benthic and New Zealand fur seals primarily epipelagic, though unexpectedly high in idual specialisation for New Zealand fur seals might suggest marginal populations provide exceptions to the pattern generally observed among other fur seals.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-03-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 12-2011
DOI: 10.1071/MU10078
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 04-2022
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.211659
Abstract: To monitor and conserve a species, it is crucial to understand the size and distribution of populations. For seabirds, population surveys are usually conducted at peak breeding attendance. One of the largest populations of Cape petrels in East Antarctica is at the Vestfold Islands, where environmental and logistical constraints often prevent access to breeding sites at the optimal time for population surveys. In this study, we aim to quantify the contemporary and historical breeding population size of these Cape petrels by adjusting nest counts for variation in breeding phenology using photographs from remote cameras. We also compare spatial distribution between 1970s and 2017/2018. Our results show ground counts occurred outside peak breeding attendance, and adjusting for phenology changed the contemporary and historical population estimates. The Cape petrels showed local intra-island or adjacent-island changes in their distribution between the 1970s and 2017/2018 with no evidence of expanding or restricting their distribution or a significant change in their breeding population size. The results emphasize the importance of accounting for phenology in population counts, where populations are inaccessible at an optimal survey time. We discuss the applications of our research methodology for populations breeding in remote areas and as a baseline for assessing population change.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 05-09-2018
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 07-2021
DOI: 10.3354/ESR01129
Abstract: As large carnivores recover from over-exploitation, managers often lack evidence-based information on species habitat requirements and the efficacy of management practices, particularly where species repopulate areas from which they have long been extirpated. We investigated the movement and habitat use by 2 semi-aquatic carnivores (Australian fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus and New Zealand fur seals A. forsteri ) at the northern end of their distributions in Australia, where after a long absence both are recolonising their historic range. We also assessed male fur seal habitat use overlap with terrestrial and marine protected areas (PAs). While at the margin of the range during winter and early spring, the males remained inshore close to terrestrial sites and where interactions with humans often occur. From early spring, the males from the range margin showed uniform movement toward colonies in the core of the species’ range prior to their breeding seasons. This contrasts with males tracked from the core of the species’ range that returned periodically to colonies during the year, and highlights the importance of range-wide monitoring of a species to inform conservation planning. Habitat use by some males included over 90% of a marine PA at the margin of the species’ range. Most terrestrial haul-outs used were within terrestrial PAs, while sites not protected were on the margin of the range. Despite wide-ranging habits, their dependence on coastal sites, where human access and activities can be regulated and more readily enforced, suggests that terrestrial and marine PAs will continue to play an important role in managing the recovery of these fur seals.
No related grants have been discovered for Marcus Salton.