'Stepping stone' pattern in Pacific Arctic tern migration reveals the importance of upwelling areas

Abstract

Arctic terns Sterna paradisaea are noted for their extraordinary migration between Arctic and sub-Arctic breeding grounds and Antarctic wintering areas. Until recently, few data existed to document this migration, and none existed for North Pacific breeders. In this study, we tracked 6 Alaskan Arctic terns tagged with combined light geolocation and saltwater immersion tags through their fall migration. During fall 2007, these birds used several highly productive stopover locations to refuel during their southward migration: the California Current, the northern and southern Humboldt Current, and the Patagonian Shelf. At least 3 of the birds went on to winter in the Weddell Sea region of Antarctica, where Arctic terns from several Atlantic populations are also known to winter. Analysis of the first ever post-breeding behavioral data collected on this species showed that the birds foraged extensively in these staging areas, spending more time foraging on days when they were located within staging areas during the fall migration. We also found that the birds were exclusively diurnal foragers, spending their nights standing out of the water and/or flying. Arctic terns likely face strict time constraints throughout the migration, timing stopovers to match production while simultaneously aiming to arrive at the wintering grounds with sufficient time remaining to complete the winter molt before returning north. Ecological disturbance at any of these locations could have serious consequences for many birds. Further, predicted effects of climate change in the Weddell Sea region could have repercussions throughout the global Arctic tern population. © 2013 The authors.