Biotic responses to large-scale climate processes are scale-dependant and can influence population trajectories of highly migratory species such as short-tailed shearwaters Ardenna tenuirostris. In this study, we quantified changes in climate, measured through large-scale climate indices (i.e. Northern Pacific Index, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, El Nino-Southern Oscillation and Southern Annular Mode) and local weather conditions (i.e. rainfall) on the breeding performance of short-tailed shearwaters at four of their breeding colonies within the Furneaux Island Group, Tasmania, Australia, from 2010 to 2018. There was inter-colony variability in adult body mass and breeding participation, which were influenced by climate conditions in the preceding year. In contrast, breeding success was influenced by climate conditions in the preceding three to four months and by local weather conditions at the time of breeding. These findings demonstrate that variation in the breeding performance of short-tailed shearwaters are explained both by large-scale climate indices and local environmental conditions. The outcomes of this study provide a better understanding of the environmental factors affecting short-tailed shearwaters.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	short-tailed shearwater, Ardenna tenuirostris, inter-colony variability, climate variability, breeding parameters
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Ecology
Research Field:	Population ecology
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
UTAS Author:	Price, CA (Miss Cassandra Price)
UTAS Author:	Emery, TJ (Dr Timothy Emery)
UTAS Author:	Hartmann, K (Associate Professor Klaas Hartmann)
UTAS Author:	Hindell, MA (Professor Mark Hindell)
ID Code:	150555
Year Published:	2021
Web of Science® Times Cited:	1
Deposited By:	Ecology and Biodiversity
Deposited On:	2022-06-20
Last Modified:	2022-11-21
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