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Article
Temporal and environmental effects on the behavior of Flightless Cormorants
The Wilson Journal of Ornithology (2013)
  • James L Hayward, Andrews University
  • Libby C Megna, Andrews University
  • Brianna G Payne, Andrews University
  • Susan R Valastegui Chavez, Andrews University
  • Shandelle M. Henson, Andrews University
Abstract

Flightless Cormorants (Phalacrocorax harrisi), the only flightless members of their 27-member genus, are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The world population of <1,000 breeding pairs is restricted to scattered small colonies along the coastlines of Isla Fernandina and Isla Isabela, Galápagos, Ecuador. No previous study has systematically examined daily activity patterns by these birds in relation to environmental variables. We made half-hourly behavior scan counts at a colony of Flightless Cormorants at Cabo Douglas, Isla Fernandina during the daylight hours of 7 consecutive days in May 2011. We used generalized linear models and multi-model inference to examine the response of colony occupancy and behaviors to hour of day, height of tide, temperature, humidity, wind speed, barometric pressure, solar elevation, and solar flux. We show that the behavior of Flightless Cormorants during our period of study was shaped primarily by time of day, wind speed, and solar flux; unlike many marine birds, they responded little to tide.

Keywords
  • diurnal activity,
  • Environmental factors,
  • Flightless Cormorants,
  • Galápagos Islands,
  • generalized linear models,
  • multi-model inference,
  • Phalacrocorax harrisi
Disciplines
Publication Date
June 15, 2013
Publisher Statement
Retrieved September 2, 2014 from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=93612247&site=ehost-live
Citation Information
James L Hayward, Libby C Megna, Brianna G Payne, Susan R Valastegui Chavez, et al.. "Temporal and environmental effects on the behavior of Flightless Cormorants" The Wilson Journal of Ornithology Vol. 125 Iss. 4 (2013)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/shandelle_henson/1/