Preliminary study on ornithofauna of Finike (Anaximander) Seamounts region and adjacent waters in the eastern Mediterranean Sea
Ortaç Onmuş, Arda M. Tonay, Ayaka Amaha Öztürk, Uğur Özsandıkçı, Ayhan Dede
ORCID IDs: O.O. 0000-0002-3819-0626; A.M.T. 0000-0003-2718-9328; A.A.Ö. 0000-0003-2281-7372; U.Ö 0000-0002-7246-5494; A.D. 0000-0002-7712-615X
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Natural History Museum, Research and Application Centre, Ege University, Izmir, TÜRKİYE
Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Istanbul University, Onaltı Mart Şehitleri Cad. No: 2, 34134, Fatih, Istanbul, TÜRKİYE
Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV), P.O. Box: 10, Beykoz, Istanbul, TÜRKİYE
Faculty of Fisheries, Sinop University, Sinop, TÜRKİYE
Abstract
This is the first study regarding offshore seabird sightings in Turkish waters. The survey was carried out in Finike Seamounts (Anaximander) region and adjacent waters for 10 days in spring and seven days in autumn of 2021. Bird distributions were determined by visual observations that were carried out onboard R/V YUNUS-S with the standard line transect method. In total, 19 bird species belonging to seven Ordos and 11 Families were recorded. The first three dominant groups of species were Scopoli’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea, n: 92, 47%), and common tern (Sterna hirundo, n: 22, 11%), and common swift (Apus apus, n: 15, 8%). In the Turkish coastal and offshore region of the Mediterranean, migratory movements and distribution of bird species, mainly Ardeidae (Ciconiiformes) and Laridae, Sternidae, and Scolopacidae (Charadriiformes), were observed in spring and autumn. In this paper, the observed and anticipated migration routes were described for those species. Detailed and long-term studies over larger areas are recommended at offshore regions in Türkiye.
Keywords: Seabirds, pelagic birds, eastern Mediterranean Sea, offshore observations, Ornitofauna, bird migration
References
ACCOBAMS (2010) Cetaceans Critical Habitats (CCH). MOP4/2010/Res 4.15). Available at: https://accobams.org/conservations-action/protected-areas/
ACCOBAMS (2021) Estimates of abundance and distribution of cetaceans, marine mega-fauna and marine litter in the Mediterranean Sea from 2018-2019 surveys. (eds., Panigada S., Boisseau O., Canadas A., Lambert C., Laran S., McLanaghan R., Moscrop A.) ACCOBAMS – ACCOBAMS Survey Initiative Project, Monaco.
BirdLife International (2018) Puffinus yelkouan. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22698230A132637221. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22698230A132637221.en. (accessed 09 Aug 2022).
BIOSNIPPET (2019) Puffinus yelkouan, yelkouan shearwater. Issue 41. Available at: https://era.org.mt/topic/biosnippets/ (accessed 17 Jul 2022).
Brown, R.G.B. (1980) Seabirds as Marine Animals. In: Behavior of Marine Animals (eds., Burger, J., Olla, B.L., Winn, H.E.), Springer, Boston.
Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R., Burnham, K.P., Laake, J.L., Borchers, D.L. Thomas, L. (2001) Introduction to Distance Sampling: Estimating Abundance of Biological Populations. Oxford University Press, New York.
Cairns, D.K. (1988) Seabirds as indicators of marine food supplies. Biological Oceanography 5(4): 261-271.
Codina-García, M., Militão, T., Moreno, J., González-Solís, J. (2013) Plastic debris in Mediterranean seabirds. Marine Pollution Bulletin 77: 1-2.
Dias, M.P., Martin, R., Pearmain, E.J., Burfield, I.J. Small, C., Phillips, R.A., Yates, O., Lascelles, B., Borboroglu, P.G. Croxalla, J.P. (2019) Threats to seabirds: A global assessment. Biological Conservation 237: 525-537.
Eken, G. (1997) The importance of Turkey coast islands for marine birds. Coast and Sea Areas of Turkey the 1st National Conference, Turkey Coasts 97 Conf. Proceedings., 24˗27 June 1997, Ankara, pp.453-465.
Furness, R.W., Kees C.J. (1997) Seabirds as monitors of the marine environment, ICES Journal of Marine Science 54(4): 726-737.
iNaturalist (2002) The checklist of Kastelorizo Island – Greece Available at: https://www.inaturalist.org/check_lists/180097-Kastelorizo-Check-List?iconic_taxon= 3 (accessed 17 July 2022).
IUCN-MMPATF (2017) Hellenic Trench IMMA. Full Accounts of Mediterranean IMMA Factsheet. IUCN Joint SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, 2017.
Liubartseva, S., Coppini, G., Lecci, R., Clementi, E. (2018) Tracking plastics in the Mediterranean: 2D Lagrangian model. Marine Pollution Bulletin 129(1): 151-162.
Magioris, S.N. (1985) Migration over the Cyclades, Central Aegean. Ringing & Migration 8(2): 109-114.
Newton, I. (2008) The Migration Ecology of Birds. London, UK: Academic Press.
Onmuş, O. (2015) Birds of the Aegean Sea In: The Aegean Sea: Marine Biodiversity, Fisheries, Conservation, and Governance, (eds., Katagan, T., Tokac, A., Besiktepe, S., Ozturk, B.) Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV), Publication No: 41, Istanbul, Turkiye, pp. 258-274.
Onmuş, O., Ege, T., Yoğurtçuoğlu, E., Bekir, S., Ekşioğlu, S. (2022) A new foraging, postbreeding, and wintering site for Mediterranean storm petrels Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis in Turkish Waters. Bird Study (in press).
Onmuş, O., Gonulal, O. (2019) A newly identified breeding site in the Aegean Sea and a status update for Audouin’s Gull Larus audouinii in Turkey (Aves: Laridae). Zoology in the Middle East 65(2): 186-188.
Öztürk, B., Topçu, E., Topaloglu, B. (2012) The Submarine Canyons of the Rhodes Basin and the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey. In: Mediterranean Submarine Canyons: Ecology and Governance, (ed., Wurtz, M.) IUCN, Gland and Malaga, pp. 65-71.
Panuccio, M., Barboutis, C., Chiatante, G., Evangelidis A., Agostini, N. (2016) Pushed by increasing air temperature and tailwind speed: weather selectivity of raptors migrating across the Aegean Sea. Ornis Fennica 93: 1-13.
Sahin, D., Bacak, E., Bilgin, S., Atay, C., Boyla, K.A. Tavares, J. (2012) Presence and behaviour of Yelkouan Shearwaters Puffinus yelkouan at the Bosphorus. In: Ecology and Conservation of Mediterranean Seabirds and other bird species under the Barcelona Convention – Proceedings of the 13th Medmaravis Pan-Mediterranean Symposium, (eds., Yésou, P., Baccetti, N., Sultana, J.), Alghero (Sardinia) 14-17 Oct. 2011, Medmaravis, Alghero, pp. 54-57.
Şenöz, M. (2015) Anaximander mountains and deep dea mud volcanoes south of Turkey, In: Conference Proceedings, 8th Congress of the Balkan Geophysical Society, Oct 2015, Volume 2015, pp.1-5.
Trierweiler, C., Klaassen, R.H.G., Drent, R.H., Exo, K-M., Komdeur, J., Bairlein, F., Koks, B.J. (2014) Migratory connectivity and population-specific migration routes in a long-distance migratory bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281: 20132897.
Yapan, B.C. (2018) Breeding marine birds in the Southeastern Mediterranean coasts of Anatolia: Habitat- population size relationship, and genetic structure of threatened Audouin’s Gull Population. Master of Science Thesis, Middle-East Technical University, Ankara.
Zotier, R., Bretagnolle, V., Thibault, J.C. (1999) Biogeography of the marine birds of a confined sea, the Mediterranean. Journal of Biogeography 26: 297-313.
