Research report 2009 - Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Thin billed prions: “miniature albatrosses” measure climate change in the Southern Ocean
Authors
Quillfeldt, Petra; Masello, Juan Francisco
Departments
Hormonelle Steuerung des Verhaltens bei Seevögeln (Quillfeldt / Emmy-Noether-Programm) (Dr. Petra Quillfeldt)
MPI für Ornithologie, Seewiesen
Vogelwarte Radolfzell (Dr. Wolfgang Fiedler)
MPI für Ornithologie, Seewiesen
Summary
The Southern Ocean is strongly affected by global change. A long-term study of Thin-billed prions, a small seabird feeding on zooplankton in these vast ocean areas, was designed to further our understanding of the changes that currently take place in this ecosytem. Further, this study will look at adaptations that enable the birds to cope with changing conditions, such as flexible provisioning behaviour and physiological regulation of timing and investments in the breeding cycle.