Year-round at-sea movements of fairy prions from south-eastern Australia

Effective conservation assessments require detailed information of species’ ecological niches during the whole annual cycle. For seabirds, this implies investigating the at-sea distribution and foraging behaviour during both the breeding and non-breeding periods. However, until recently, collecting information about the smallest species has been precluded by the excessive size of the required devices. This lack of knowledge is exacerbated in the case of polytypic genera with species sharing very similar appearance and behaviour, such as the super-abundant prions (Pachyptila spp.). The present study investigates the year-round at-sea distribution and foraging ecology of the fairy prion (Pachyptila turtur) in south-eastern Australia. Using miniaturized GPS during the breeding season and geolocators (GLS) during the non-breeding period, the results highlight the importance of the continental shelf-edge waters for fairy prions throughout the year. In addition, contrary to previous assumptio...