Vultures of the seas: hyperacidic stomachs in wandering albatrosses as an adaptation to dispersed food resources, including fishery wastes

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dc.contributor.authorGrémillet, Daviden_ZA
dc.contributor.authorPrudor, Aurélienen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorle Maho, Yvonen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorWeimerskirch, Henrien_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-20T16:06:03Z
dc.date.available2015-12-20T16:06:03Z
dc.date.issued2012en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAnimals are primarily limited by their capacity to acquire food, yet digestive performance also conditions energy acquisition, and ultimately fitness. Optimal foraging theory predicts that organisms feeding on patchy resources should maximize their food loads within each patch, and should digest these loads quickly to minimize travelling costs between food patches. We tested the prediction of high digestive performance in wandering albatrosses, which can ingest prey of up to 3 kg, and feed on highly dispersed food resources across the southern ocean. GPS-tracking of 40 wandering albatrosses from the Crozet archipelago during the incubation phase confirmed foraging movements of between 475-4705 km, which give birds access to a variety of prey, including fishery wastes. Moreover, using miniaturized, autonomous data recorders placed in the stomach of three birds, we performed the first-ever measurements of gastric pH and temperature in procellariformes. These revealed surprisingly low pH levels (average 1.50±0.13), markedly lower than in other seabirds, and comparable to those of vultures feeding on carrion. Such low stomach pH gives wandering albatrosses a strategic advantage since it allows them a rapid chemical breakdown of ingested food and therefore a rapid digestion. This is useful for feeding on patchy, natural prey, but also on fishery wastes, which might be an important additional food resource for wandering albatrosses.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationGrémillet, D., Prudor, A., le Maho, Y., & Weimerskirch, H. (2012). Vultures of the seas: hyperacidic stomachs in wandering albatrosses as an adaptation to dispersed food resources, including fishery wastes. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15923en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationGrémillet, David, Aurélien Prudor, Yvon le Maho, and Henri Weimerskirch "Vultures of the seas: hyperacidic stomachs in wandering albatrosses as an adaptation to dispersed food resources, including fishery wastes." <i>PLoS One</i> (2012) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15923en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationGrémillet, D., Prudor, A., le Maho, Y., & Weimerskirch, H. (2011). Vultures of the seas: hyperacidic stomachs in wandering albatrosses as an adaptation to dispersed food resources, including fishery wastes. PloS one, 7(6), e37834. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0037834en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Grémillet, David AU - Prudor, Aurélien AU - le Maho, Yvon AU - Weimerskirch, Henri AB - Animals are primarily limited by their capacity to acquire food, yet digestive performance also conditions energy acquisition, and ultimately fitness. Optimal foraging theory predicts that organisms feeding on patchy resources should maximize their food loads within each patch, and should digest these loads quickly to minimize travelling costs between food patches. We tested the prediction of high digestive performance in wandering albatrosses, which can ingest prey of up to 3 kg, and feed on highly dispersed food resources across the southern ocean. GPS-tracking of 40 wandering albatrosses from the Crozet archipelago during the incubation phase confirmed foraging movements of between 475-4705 km, which give birds access to a variety of prey, including fishery wastes. Moreover, using miniaturized, autonomous data recorders placed in the stomach of three birds, we performed the first-ever measurements of gastric pH and temperature in procellariformes. These revealed surprisingly low pH levels (average 1.50±0.13), markedly lower than in other seabirds, and comparable to those of vultures feeding on carrion. Such low stomach pH gives wandering albatrosses a strategic advantage since it allows them a rapid chemical breakdown of ingested food and therefore a rapid digestion. This is useful for feeding on patchy, natural prey, but also on fishery wastes, which might be an important additional food resource for wandering albatrosses. DA - 2012 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0037834 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2012 T1 - Vultures of the seas: hyperacidic stomachs in wandering albatrosses as an adaptation to dispersed food resources, including fishery wastes TI - Vultures of the seas: hyperacidic stomachs in wandering albatrosses as an adaptation to dispersed food resources, including fishery wastes UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15923 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/15923
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037834
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationGrémillet D, Prudor A, le Maho Y, Weimerskirch H. Vultures of the seas: hyperacidic stomachs in wandering albatrosses as an adaptation to dispersed food resources, including fishery wastes. PLoS One. 2012; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15923.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentPercy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2012 Grémillet et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherStomachen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBirdsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherForagingen_ZA
dc.subject.otherFooden_ZA
dc.subject.otherSeabirdsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherSquidsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherMarine fishen_ZA
dc.subject.otherFoodborne organismsen_ZA
dc.titleVultures of the seas: hyperacidic stomachs in wandering albatrosses as an adaptation to dispersed food resources, including fishery wastesen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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