CAREER: Using Dynamic Energy Landscapes to Understand Drivers of Movement, Foraging and Life History Patterns in Albatrosses

Changes in the environment impact where marine predators go to find food, and also how much energy these animals have to spend in reaching their foraging grounds. Assessing how foraging in marine animals is influenced by climate patterns is critical to understanding the future of marine ecosystems. We expect wind patterns to shift under predicted climate scenarios, and albatrosses, large seabirds that rely on wind to reach distant foraging areas, are strongly affected by wind patterns. Consequently, changes in the environment will likely have strong impacts on the movement and foraging behavior of albatrosses, as well as their ability to raise chicks successfully. This study will investigate how wind patterns influence the amount of energy that albatrosses have to spend when foraging, how this in turn impacts albatross reproduction, and how differences in wind patterns between El Niño and La Niña conditions influence the energetic cost of reaching foraging grounds. This work will take advantage of recent developments in tagging technology to generate estimates of energetic expenditure during albatross foraging trips. Education and outreach efforts will be integrated with research activities by: a) incorporating real-world scientific research into the New York State high school curriculum; b) developing novel and effective means of communicating my research with the public; and c) initiating a program to improve the retention and promotion of women in STEM fields. Animal movement plays a central role in the ability of species to respond to changes in climate and other aspects of the environment, and is a major driver of biological processes from individuals to ecosystems. Fluid flow has important effects on the cost of transport and life history characteristics in flying and swimming animals, and many species have evolved to rely on global patterns of wind and ocean currents for migrations and foraging movements. Changes in the location and intensity of dominant wind patterns will have important consequences for the energetic costs of foraging, but the implications of these changes have not been explored in detail. This research develops a novel approach for understanding how environmental variability influences movement, foraging energetics and life history of North Pacific albatrosses. Proxies of energy expenditure measured in the field in real-time will be combined with innovative spatial approaches (energy landscapes) to develop a mechanistic model linking climate-driven variability in wind patterns to changes in albatross foraging energetics and life history.