Impacts of climate variation and potential effects of climate change on South American seabirds – a review

Figures & data

Figure 1.  Large Marine Ecosystems bordering South America, as defined by Sherman & Hempel (2009) (see also http://www.lme.noaa.gov/).

Figure 2.  Humboldt Current LME seabirds: Humboldt penguins (upper left), Peruvian boobies (upper right), Chilean pelicans (lower left) and red-legged cormorants (lower right). Choros and Chungungo Islands, Northern Chile. Photographer: Petra Quillfeldt.

Figure 3.  Patagonian Shelf LME seabirds. Upper row left to right: imperial shag, gentoo penguin, dolphin gull, southern rockhopper penguin. Second row: breeding sites on cliffs (left, New Island) and beaches (right, Península Valdéz). Third row: mixed breeding colonies (here, southern rockhopper penguins, black-browed albatrosses and imperial shags). Lower row left to right: Falkland skua, Magellanic penguin, black-browed albatross, thin-billed prion. Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas and Península Valdéz. Photographer: Petra Quillfeldt.

Table I. Overview of the oceanographic characteristics of the LMEs treated in detail in this review.

LME	Geographic position	Key oceanographic characteristics	Surface area (million km^2)	Protection (%)	Productivity	Sea surface temperature trend (warming since 1957; 1982)^1
Humboldt Current LME	West coast of Chile (55°S) to Peru (5°S)	World's largest coastal upwelling system, intense wind-induced upwelling cells result in productive cold water masses	2.5	0.1	Moderate (150–300 gC/m^2-yr)	Variable: 0.41°C, −0.10°C
Patagonian Shelf LME	Coast of Argentina to Uruguay (34°S)	wide, shallow shelf, with mesoscale tidal mixing fronts (e.g. Valdéz f., Bahía Grande f.) and boundary currents (Brazil C., Malvinas/Falkland C.), influence of Sub-Antarctic and estuarine waters	1.2	0.18	Moderate (150–300 gC/m^2-yr)	Very gradual warming: 0.15°C, −0.08°C
South Brazil Shelf LME	From central Brazil (22°S) to Uruguay (34°S)	Wide (up to 220 km) Shelf, 3 parts: a. Southern Shelf influenced by estuarine outflows, most productive in summer b. South Brazil Bight (seasonal upwellings and cold intrusions) c. Eastern slope (mesoscale eddies, fronts best defined April to September)	0.6	1.7	Moderate (150–300 gC/m^2-yr)	Moderate warming: 1.12°C, 0.53°C
^1 Linear SST trend since 1957 and 1982 (Sherman & Hempel 2009).

Figure 4.  South Brazil Shelf LME seabirds: spectacled petrel (upper left), juvenile black-browed albatross (upper right), Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross (lower left) and a mixed group of royal terns, Cabbot's tern, and snowy-crowned tern in breeding plumage, with non-breeding South American terns (lower right). Photographer: Leandro Bugoni.

Table II. Overview of the seabird associations, proposed climatic trends and seabirds’ responses of the LME treated in detail in this review. The number of seabird species correspond to species whose distribution at sea overlaps with each Large Marine Ecosystem, as given by Croxall et al. (2012, supplement, table S3).

LME	Number of seabird species and examples	Climatic factors that may influence seabirds	Evidence for climatic influences
Humboldt Current LME	105 species Breeding/resident: Humboldt penguin, sooty shearwater, wedge-rumped storm-petrel, Elliot's storm petrel, Markham's storm petrel, Peruvian diving petrel, Peruvian pelican, Peruvian booby, guanay cormorant, Peruvian tern, Inca tern, band-tailed gull, grey gull Non-breeding/wintering: black-browed albatross, Salvin's albatross, white-chinned petrel, Juan Fernandez petrel, thin-billed prion, blue-footed booby, red phalarope, Franklin's gull	Strong seasonal, interannual and longer-term variability, periodic occurrence of ENSO, leading to very variable productivity Models forecast reduced Eastern Pacific ENSO activity, in line with recent cooling trend	Seabird breeding failures and emigration during strong El Niño events well documented, otherwise climate influences little known
Patagonian Shelf LME	73 species Breeding/resident: black-browed albatross, Wilson's storm petrel, thin-billed prion, common diving petrel, Magellanic diving petrel, southern rockhopper penguin, gentoo penguin, Magellanic penguin, kelp gull, imperial shag, rock shag, dolphin gull, South American tern Non-breeding/wintering: wandering albatross, grey-headed albatross, light-mantled albatross, white-chinned petrel, Wilson's storm petrel, great shearwater, Manx shearwater, Cory's shearwater, Arctic tern	No clear trends proposed, possibly LME is affected by a poleward shift in the maximum wind zone associated with the circumpolar westerlies and an increase in productivity	SST anomalies affect seabird provisioning (e.g. thin-billed prion) and survival (rockhopper penguin, gentoo penguin) Severe rains frequently cause breeding failures (Magellanic penguin, southern rockhopper penguin, black-browed albatross)
South Brazil Shelf LME	51 species Breeding/resident: brown booby, neotropic cormorant, magnificent frigatebird, kelp gull, brown-hooded gull, snowy-crowned tern, South American tern, Cabbot's tern, royal tern Non-breeding/wintering: wandering albatross, Tristan albatross, black-browed albatross, northern royal albatross, southern royal albatross, shy-type albatross, Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross, spectacled petrel, white-chinned petrel, Cape petrel, southern fulmar, great shearwater, sooty shearwater, Manx shearwater, Cory's shearwater, Wilson's storm petrel, Magellanic Penguin	Southern Shelf: in El Niño years, the freshwater outflow is greater and the productivity is enhanced South Brazil Bight and Eastern slope: stronger upwelling in El Niño years, resulting in more productive Sub-Antarctic water	Climate influences little known, few case studies: e.g., ENSO anomalies related to Magellanic penguin mortality

Sherman K , Hempel G 2009 . The UNEP Large Marine Ecosystem Report: A Perspective on Changing Conditions in LMEs of the World's Regional Seas . Nairobi : UNEP . 852 pages.

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