Cyclone avoidance behaviour by foraging seabirds

In the context of climate change, how extreme climatic events, such as cyclones, will affect the foraging abilities of marine vertebrates is still poorly known. During the course of a study on the foraging behaviour of two tropical seabirds, red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds, several cyclones have affected their breeding grounds and foraging zones, allowing us to study their response to extreme wind conditions. We examined whether adults and young naïve birds were able to predict the arrival of a cyclone and behave accordingly to reduce mortality risks and optimise foraging. We show that when a cyclone approached, juveniles and adults of the two species differed in their decisions to leave the colony for the sea. When the winds reached gale force, the juveniles of both species and adult frigatebirds remained at the colony, whereas adult boobies continued their foraging routine. The mortality of the individuals remaining on land remained limited. When encountering at-sea gale conditions, adult birds were able to avoid the centre of the low pressure systems and moved westward to bypass the route of the cyclones and circumvent the moving cyclone. Frigatebirds climb to high altitudes when close to the eye of the cyclone to bypass it at high speeds. These movements likely reduce the mortality risk at sea but can temporarily cause birds to move outside their normal range at sea or over land masses. We discuss the potential consequences of an increase in cyclonic conditions on seabird populations.