Foraging activity and submesoscale habitat use of waved albatrosses Phoebastria irrorata during chick-brooding period

Highly accurate GPS dataloggers, immersion monitors, and remote-sensing images were used to examine the foraging habitat of the waved albatross Phoebastria irrorata with greater resolution than that in previous mesoscale studies, which identified features of foraging trip destinations. Analyses revealed reduced variability in habitat use at finer scales. Bathymetry was consistently a statistically significant predictor of the foraging habitat of parent albatrosses tracked during the 2003 chick-brooding period, when they made short trips close to breeding grounds. These brood-stage parents were more active during the day than the night, and nocturnal flight activity was positively correlated with moon phase. All tracked parents travelled to the shallow (< 600 m) quadrant NNW of the breeding colony on Isla Espanola, Galapagos. Corroborating the result of a previous study, 92% of all activity occurred within 100 km of the breeding colony. Foraging activity was similar for males and females. These data provide critical information on habitat use of the breeding component of the waved albatross population within the newly created Galapagos Marine Reserve.