Movement Patterns of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters

Movement Patterns and Habitat Selection of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) Breeding at Aride Island, Seychelles.  Jacopo G. Cecere, Licia Calabrese, Gerard Rocamora and Carlo Catoni.  Waterbirds 36(4): 432-437.

Waterbirds is an International journal, publishing new information on little known species and promoting new technologies and methods to study waterbirds.  In the December 2013 issue, seabird movements during foraging trips and documenting their preference for particular areas was the focus. During the last decade, the use of new devices, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) devices and geo-locator loggers, has allowed researchers to perform more investigations of this type. GPS devices were used on Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) breeding on Aride Island, Seychelles, to identify the main foraging areas used. Thirteen foraging trips were recorded, 61.5% of which lasted one day. The identification of key marine conservation areas, like those identified in this study, is a priority for designating marine Important Bird Areas and identifying habitat management measures.  Free access to article.