Congdon, B.C. (2008) Seabirds. In: Hutchings, Pat, Kingsford, Mike, and Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove, (eds.) The Great Barrier Reef: biology, environment and management. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, VIC, Australia, pp. 359-368.

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Abstract

[Extract] Seabirds are highly visible, charismatic predators in marine ecosystems that feed primarily or exclusively at sea. They have a range of relatively unique life-history characteristics associated with this predominantly marine lifestyle. Many of these characteristics are directly linked with having to forage over large distances to obtain sufficient food to breed.

In general, seabirds are long-lived species that have deferred sexual maturity, small clutch sizes, slow chick growth rates and extended fledgling periods. For example, crested terns may live 18-20 years, sooty terns up to 32 years and larger species such as boobies and frigate birds even longer. Most seabird species do not become sexually mature or return to breed for between 5 to 12 years after fledging and the nestling period for some species, such as frigate birds, can be up to six months long.

Item ID:	7472
Item Type:	Book Chapter (Research - B1)
ISBN:	978-0-643-09557-1
Keywords:	Great Barrier Reef; seabirds; life-histories; foraging ecology; climate change; marine sciences
Date Deposited:	21 Dec 2009 01:53
FoR Codes:	06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060205 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl Marine Ichthyology) @ 60% 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0699 Other Biological Sciences > 069999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified @ 40%
SEO Codes:	96 ENVIRONMENT > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960808 Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity @ 100%
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