The role of island physiography and oceanographic factors in shaping species richness and turnover of nesting seabird assemblages on islands across the southeastern Pacific

For seabirds, food supplies and nest sites are largely driven by oceanographic gradients and island habitats, respectively. Research into seabirds’ ecological roles in insular ecosystems is crucial to understanding processes that structure seabird nesting assemblages. We examined the influence of island physiography and oceanographic factors on the spatial variation in α and β-diversity of nesting seabird assemblages.

Location
Southeastern Pacific Ocean.

Taxon
Birds

Methods
We compiled data from 53 seabirds breeding on 41 coastal and oceanic islands using different sources: our field records, online databases, environmental reports, and literature. We used generalized linear models (GLM) to describe the effect of island physiography (area, elevation, and isolation) and oceanographic factors (surface temperature, salinity, and primary productivity) on seabird species richness (α-diversity). We applied multivariate GLM to test the effects of physiographic and oceanographic pre...