Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wzw2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-01T13:22:39.759Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Changes in abundance and at-sea distribution of seabirds in the Bay of Biscay prior to, and following the “Erika” oil spill

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2004

Iker Castège ,
Georges Hémery ,
Nicole Roux ,
Jean d'Elbée ,
Yann Lalanne ,
Frank D'Amico  and
Claude Mouchès
Iker Castège
Affiliation:
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département d'Écologie et de Gestion de la Biodiversité, USM 305, Conservation des espèces Station maritime de recherche, Plateau de la Petite Atalaye, 64200 Biarritz, France
Georges Hémery
Affiliation:
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département d'Écologie et de Gestion de la Biodiversité, USM 305, Conservation des espèces Station maritime de recherche, Plateau de la Petite Atalaye, 64200 Biarritz, France
Nicole Roux
Affiliation:
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département d'Écologie et de Gestion de la Biodiversité, USM 305, Conservation des espèces Station maritime de recherche, Plateau de la Petite Atalaye, 64200 Biarritz, France
Jean d'Elbée
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'analyse des prélèvements hydrobiologiques, Plateau de la Petite Atalaye, 64200 Biarritz, France
Yann Lalanne
Affiliation:
Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, UFR Sciences et Techniques de la Côte Basque, Département d'Écologie, allée du Parc Montaury, 64600 Anglet, France
Frank D'Amico
Affiliation:
Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, UFR Sciences et Techniques de la Côte Basque, Département d'Écologie, allée du Parc Montaury, 64600 Anglet, France
Claude Mouchès
Affiliation:
Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, UFR Sciences et Techniques de la Côte Basque, Département d'Écologie, allée du Parc Montaury, 64600 Anglet, France
Get access

Abstract

We investigated the impact of the “Erika” oil spill in the Bay of Biscay (France) on seabird populations. Relative abundance and spatial distribution at sea between 1980-1999 and 2000-2002 periods were compared. This study took place in a standardized monitoring at sea carried out with Coast Guard vessels following the line transect method. This work rests on 107 551 standardized counts of one minute before “Erika” and 23 449 after the oil spill. There was not a simple correlation between the number of individuals found oiled and the numerical variation of the populations at sea during the two years following the accident. The guillemot Uria aalge, the most frequently collected species in the north of the Bay of Biscay, showed no decrease in at sea abundance during the two years following the pollution. Conversely, some species found in small numbers on the coast (e.g. divers Gavia sp., razorbill Alca torda, common scoter Melanitta nigra) decreased significantly at sea (20 to 80%). Overall, marine bird populations declined significantly in the northern sector of the Bay of Biscay (48°32' to 46°58' north) and increased in the southern sector (45°13' to 43°15' north), whereas decreases and increases occurred in the central sector (46°57' to 45°14' north). Changes in the spatial distribution of the species after the “Erika” oil spill occurred through disappearance or retraction (Bay of Vilaine, Houat-Hoedic archipelago), or through displacement and reinforcement (Gouf of Capbreton). Overall, this suggests a redistribution of the populations within the Bay of Biscay, depending on the level of injuries to the ecosystems caused by the pollution.

Keywords

SeabirdsAbundanceLine transectSpatial distributionOil pollution
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 17 , Issue 3: The "Erika" Oil Spill: Environmental Contamination and Effects in the Bay of Biscay , July 2004 , pp. 361 - 367
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anonymous, 2000, Bilan par espèces. L'Oiseau Magazine. Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux, Rochefort. France, Hors série 1, 50-51.
Camphuysen, C.J., 1998, Beached bird surveys indicate decline in chronic oil pollution in the North Sea. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 36, 519-526. CrossRef
Camphuysen, C.J., Heubeck, M., 2001, Marine oil pollution and beached bird surveys: The development of a sensitive monitoring instrument. Environ. Pollut. 112, 443-461. CrossRef
Castège I., Roux N., Hémery G., 2003, Recherches et suivi des oiseaux marins en mer. Programme ROMER navires. C.R. conv. Mus. Nat. Hist. Nat., L.P.O., DIREN Pays Loire, pp. 48-51.
Clark R.B., 1992, Marine Pollution. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Clarke, E.D., Spear, L.B., McCracken, M.L., Marques, F.F.C., Borchers, D.L., Buckland, S.T., Ainley, D.G., 2003, Validating the use of generalized additive models and at-sea surveys to estimate size and temporal trends of seabird populations. J. Appl. Ecol. 40, 278-292. CrossRef
Cramp S., Simmons K.E.L., 1983, Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and north Africa. The birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. III: Waders to Gulls. In: Cramp S., Simmons K.E.L. (Eds.). Oxford University Press, London.
Croxall J.P., 1987, Seabirds: Feeding, ecology and role in marine ecosystems. Cambridge Univ. Press.
Croxall J.-P., Rothery P., 1991, Population regulation of seabirds: implication of their demography for conservation. In: Perrins, C.M., Lebreton, J.-D., Hirons, G.M. (Eds.), Bird population studies, Oxford, pp. 272-296.
Conover W.J., 1971, Practical nonparametric statistics. Wiley & sons, New York.
Fauchald, P., Erikstad, K.E., Systad, G.H., 2002, Seabirds and marine oil incidents: is it possible to predict the spatial distribution of pelagic seabirds? J. Appl. Ecol. 39, 349-360. CrossRef
Ferrière, R., Sarrazin, F., Legendre, F., Baron, J.-P., 1996, Matrix population models applied to viability analysis and conservation: theory and practice using the ULM software. Acta Oecol. 17, 629-656.
ESAS Database, 1996, European Seabirds at Sea Database Coding Manual. Unpublished V.3 draft: 13 p.
Gerrodette, T., 1987, A power analysis for detecting trends. Ecology 68, 1364-1372. CrossRef
Hatch, S.A., 2003, Statistical power for detecting trends with applications to seabird monitoring. Biol. Cons. 111, 317-329. CrossRef
Hémery G., 2001, Biodiversity and adaptations of extent marine birds: an overview. In Secondary Adaptations of Tetrapods to Life in Water. In: Mazin J.M., de Buffrenil V. (Eds.). Verlag München, pp. 119-139.
Hémery, G., Castège, I., Dupont, B., d' Elbée, J., André, R., 2002, Ecosystème et climat dans le Golfe de Gascogne. Met. Mar. Météo France Paris 194, 3-5.
Hémery G., Pasquet E., Yésou P., 1986, Data banks and population monitoring in France. In: Monbailliu X. (Ed.). MEDMARAVIS, Mediterranean Marine Avifauna, Populations Studies and Conservation, pp. 163-177.
Heubeck, M., Camphuysen, K.C.J., Bao, R., Humple, D., Rey, A.S., Cadiou, B., Brager, S., Thomas, T., 2003, Assessing the impact of major oil spills on seabird populations. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 46, 900-902. CrossRef
McDonald T.L., Erickson W.P., McDonald L.L. 2000, Analysis of count data from before-after control-impact studies. J. Agric. Biol. Environ. Stat. 5, 262-279.
Récorbet B., 1996, Composition, abondance, distribution et vulnérabilité aux pollutions par hydrocarbures de l'avifaune marine côtière du Sud Bretagne/Nord Gascogne. Unpubl. Thesis. École Pratique des Hautes Études, Montpellier.
Sanger G.A., 1987, Trophic levels and trophic relationships of seabirds in the Gulf of Alaska. In: Croxall (Ed.). Seabirds feeding ecology and role in marine ecosystem. Cambridge University Press, pp. 229-257.
SAS Institute Inc. 1989, User's Guide, Version 6, Fourth Edition, Vol. 1, 2. SAS Institute Inc. Cary, NC.
Schreiber E.A., Burger J., 2002, Biology of Marine Birds. CRC Press, Boca Raton.
Seber G.A.F., 1982, Estimation of animal abundance and related parameters, 2nd edition. Griffin & co., London.
Sneyers R., 1975, Sur l'analyse des séries statistiques d'observations. Note Technique No. 143. Organisation Météorologique Mondiale, Genève.
Vitalis, R., Couvet, D., 2001, Estimation of population size and migration rate from one and two locus identity measures. Genetics 157, 911-925.
Whittow G.C., Rahn, H., 1984, Seabird energetics. Plenum Press, New York.
Wiese, F.K., Ryan, P.K., 2003, The extent of chronic marine oil pollution in south-eastern Newfoundland waters assessed through beached bird surveys 1984-1999. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 46, 1090-1101. CrossRef