Study insight into seabirds’ hunt for food

A PROJECT to track hundreds of British and Irish seabirds has revealed new insights into where species search for food at sea.

The study, which tracked and modelled behaviour of kittiwakes, shags, razorbills and guillemots, can help assess potential impacts from offshore wind farms and other activities and where protected areas of the seas should be, researchers said.

Lightweight GPS tags were fitted to more than 1,300 adult birds from 29 different colonies around the UK and Ireland, to track where they went to catch fish at sea.

The data was used to create a computer model for each species to predict important areas at sea for other colonies where no tracking took place, estimating where birds travelled from some 5,500 breeding sites. Results from the five-year study published in the journal Ecological Applications reveal the extensive areas of sea the four seabird species use – at least 600,000 square miles, an area three times the size of Spain.

It shows how far they travel from their nests in search of food for their chicks.

As UK administrations consider post-Brexit fishing policies and the creation of protected sites to safeguard seabird feeding grounds, the analysis provides critical data to inform marine management, the experts said.

The four species studied require conservation help, with kittiwake numbers declining 71% in the past 25 years and shag populations down 61%, meaning both seabirds are “red listed” and need urgent protection.

Razorbills and guillemots are “amber listed” which mean they are considered to need conservation action.