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Seasonal migration across the north-western Pacific and Indian Oceans in Swinhoe’s Storm-petrel Hydrobates monorhis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2025

Toru Nakahara Open the ORCID record for Toru Nakahara [Opens in a new window] ,
Hiroto Okabe ,
Kosuke Otsuki ,
Takayasu Charles Amano ,
Tatsuya Nozaki ,
Keiichi Otsui  and
Noriyuki M. Yamaguchi Open the ORCID record for Noriyuki M. Yamaguchi [Opens in a new window]
Toru Nakahara*
Affiliation:
Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History , 2-4-1 Higashida, Yahatahigashi-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka 805-0071, Japan
Hiroto Okabe
Affiliation:
Kyushu Environmental Evaluation Association , 1-10-1, Matsukadai, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 813-0004, Japan
Kosuke Otsuki
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan
Takayasu Charles Amano
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan
Tatsuya Nozaki
Affiliation:
Kyushu Branch Office, Wesco Co., Ltd, 2-1-9 Hakataeki-minami, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka, 812-0016 Japan
Keiichi Otsui
Affiliation:
Kyushu Branch Office, Wesco Co., Ltd, 2-1-9 Hakataeki-minami, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka, 812-0016 Japan
Noriyuki M. Yamaguchi
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan Organization for Marine Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan
*
Corresponding author: Toru Nakahara; Email: toru.nakahara510@gmail.com
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Summary

Seabirds are experiencing a decline in their populations because of climate change and human activities. Understanding their spatiotemporal dynamics is crucial for effective conservation, but the distribution and movement patterns of pelagic seabirds are not yet fully elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the seasonal movements and wintering areas of Swinhoe’s Storm-petrel Hydrobates monorhis, a Near Threatened species that breeds primarily on islands in the north-western Pacific. The data analyses of geolocators retrieved from four birds showed that Swinhoe’s Storm-petrels migrated across the north-western Pacific and Indian Oceans and wintered in the Arabian Sea. The distance between their breeding colony and the wintering area was approximately 6,700 km, and the tracking distance for a seasonal migration exceeded 12,000 km. The migration pathway was characterised by large-scale movements in both north–south and east–west directions in the Eurasian offshore regions, which previously had been inferred from direct observations at such areas but not empirically confirmed. Wintering areas in the Arabian Sea overlapped with regions where plankton blooms are triggered by the monsoon in winter, which may produce high marine productivity and support the wintering of Swinhoe’s Storm-petrels in this sea area.

Keywords

HydrobatidaeJapanKoyajimaSeabirdSunda Islands

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Type
Research Article
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 35 , 2025 , e36
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of BirdLife International

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