Seabirds in the Bay of Bengal large marine ecosystem: Current knowledge and research objectives

Abstract

Seabirds are good candidates as ecological indicators, especially in under-studied ecosystems since they provide insights into marine ecosystem processes and functions at various trophic levels. Our review discusses salient points on the present status of seabirds in the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem; despite overall low seabird numbers and biomass, this region harbors 9 species of terns, one of the most threatened bird group worldwide, which are known to breed in various marine habitats of Andaman and Nicobar islands, in addition to the coastal areas of mainland. Further, we elaborate on employing seabirds as potential indicators of this ecosystem and how they outscore other taxa in this aspect. Finally, we argue that it is essentially to fill the gaps in our knowledge about the BOBLME, mainly about the interplay between seabirds, climate change and fisheries.

Share and Cite:

Mondreti, R. , Davidar, P. , Péron, C. and Grémillet, D. (2013) Seabirds in the Bay of Bengal large marine ecosystem: Current knowledge and research objectives. Open Journal of Ecology, 3, 172-184. doi: 10.4236/oje.2013.32021.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Chou SAUP (2011) Sea around us project. www.seaaroundus.org
[2] BOBLME (2011) Status of marine protected areas and fish refugia in the Bay of Bengal large marine ecosystem. http://www.boblme.org/documentRepository/BOBLME-2011-Ecology-10.pdf
[3] Singh, H.S. (2003) Marine protected areas in India. Indian Journal of Marine Sciences, 32, 226-233.
[4] DRAFT BOBLME Transboundary diagnostic analysis—Volume 2: Background and environmental assessment (2010) Bay of Bengal large marine ecosystem project. http://www.boblme.org/documentRepository/BOBLME%20draft%20TDA%20vol1%20for%20national%20consultations.pdf
[5] Sampath, V. (2003) India: National report on the status and development potential of the coastal and marine environment of the east coast of India and its living resources. GEF/FAO Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Programme, 296.
[6] Sherman, K and Hempel, G. (2009) The UNEP large marine ecosystem report: A perspective on the changing conditions of the LMEs of the world’s regional seas. UNEP Regional Seas Report and Studies, United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
[7] Dwivedi, S. N. (1993) Long-term variability in the food chain, biomass yield and oceanography of the Bay of Bengal ecosystem. In: Sherman, K., Alexander, L. M. and Gold, B. D., Eds., Large Marine Ecosystems: Stress, Mitigation, and Sustainability, AAAS Press, Washington DC, 43-52.
[8] Prasanna Kumar, S., Narvekar, J., Nuncio, M., Kumar, A., Ramaiah, N., Sardesai, S., Gauns., M., Fernandes, V. and Paul, J. (2010) Is the biological productivity in the Bay of Bengal light limited? Current science, 98, 1331-1339.
[9] Dwivedi, S.N and Choubey, A.K. (1998) Indian Ocean large marine ecosystems: Need for national and regional framework for conservation and sustainable development. In: Sherman, K. Okemwa E. and Ntiba M., Eds., Large Marine Ecosystems of the Indian Ocean: Assessment, Sustainability, and Management, Blackwell Science, Cambridge, 327-333.
[10] Satpathy, K. K., Mohanty, A. K., Sahu, G., Sarguru, S., Sarkar, S. K. and Natesan, U. (2011) Spatio-temporal variation in physicochemical properties of coastal waters off Kalpakkam, southeast coast of India, during summer, pre-monsoon and post-monsoon period. Environmental Monitoring Assessment, 180, 41-62. doi:10.1007/s10661-010-1771-2
[11] Das, B., Khan, Y. S. A., Das, P. and Shaheen, S.M. (2002) Organochlorine pesticide residues in catfish, Tachysurus thalassinus (Ruppell, 1835), from the South Patches of the Bay of Bengal. Environmental Pollution, 120, 255-259. doi:10.1016/S0269-7491(02)00153-7
[12] Lakshmanan, R., Kesavan, K., Vijayanand, P., Rajaram, V. and Rajagopal, S. (2009) Heavy Metals accumulation in five commercially important fishes of Parangipettai, southeast coast of India. Advance Journal of Food Science and Technology, 1, 63-65.
[13] Ballance, L.T. (2007) Understanding seabirds at sea: Why and how? Marine Ornithology, 35, 127-135.
[14] Parsons, M., Mitchell, I., Butler, A., Ratcliffe, N., Frederiksen, M., Foster, S. and Reid, J.B. (2008) Seabirds as indicators of the marine environment. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65, 1520-1526. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsn155
[15] Piatt, J.F., Sydeman, W. J. And Wiese, F. (2007) Introduction: A modern role for seabirds as indicators. Marine Ecology progress series, 352, 199-204. doi:10.3354/meps07070
[16] Birkhead, T.R. and Furness, R.W. (1985) Regulation of seabird populations. In: Sibly, R.M. and Smith, R.H., Eds., Behavioural Ecology, Blackwell, Oxford, 145-167.
[17] Hunt, G.L., Eppley, Z.A. and Schneider, D.C. (1986) Re- productive performance of seabirds: The importance of population and colony size. The Auk, 103, 306-317.
[18] Hunt, G.L., Piatt, J.F. and Erikstadt, K.E. (1990) How do foraging seabirds sample their environment? Acta XX Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici, Christchurch, 2272-2280.
[19] Durant, J.M., Hjermann, D.O., Frederiksen, M., Charraissin, J.B., et al. (2009) Pros and cons of using seabirds as ecological indicators. Climate Research, 39, 115-129. doi:10.3354/cr00798
[20] Cury, P. M., et al. (2011) Global seabird response to forage fish depletion—One-third for the birds. Science, 334, 1703-1706. doi:10.1126/science.1212928
[21] Veit, R.R., Pyle, P. and McGowan, J.A. (1996) Ocean warming and long-term change in pelagic bird abundance within the California current system. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 139, 11-18. doi:10.3354/meps139011
[22] Hyrenbach, K.D. and Veit, R.R. (2003) Ocean warming and seabird communities of the southern California Current System (1987–98): Response at multiple temporal scales. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 50, 2537-2565. doi:10.1016/S0967-0645(03)00123-1
[23] Murphy, R.C. (1936) The oceanic birds of South America. American Museum of Natural History. Macmillan, New York.
[24] Gremillet, D. and Boulinier, T. (2009) Spatial ecology and conservation of seabirds facing global climate change a review. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 391, 121-137. doi:10.3354/meps08212
[25] Levitus, S., Antonov, J.I., Boyer, T.P. and Stephens, C. (2000) Warming of the world ocean. Science, 287, 2225-2229. doi:10.1126/science.287.5461.2225
[26] Levitus, S., Antonov, J. and Boyer, T. (2005) Warming of the world ocean, 1955-2003. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L02604. doi:10.1029/2004GL021592
[27] Aebischer, N.J., Coulson, J.C. and Colebrook, J.M. (1990) Parallel long-term trends across four marine trophic levels and weather. Nature, 347, 753-755. doi:10.1038/347753a0
[28] Frederiksen, M., Edwards, M., Richardson, A.J., Halliday, N.C. and Wanless, S. (2006) From plankton to top predators: Bottom-up control of a marine food web across four trophic levels. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75, 1259-1268. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01148.x
[29] Grémillet, D. and Charmantier, A. (2010) Shifts in phenotypic plasticity constrain the value of seabirds as ecological indicators of marine ecosystems. Ecological Applications, 20, 1498-1503. doi:10.1890/09-1586.1
[30] Sydeman, W.J., Hester, M.M., Thayer, J.A., Gress, F., Martin, P. and Buffa, J. (2001) Climate change, reproducetive performance and diet composition of marine birds in the southern California Current System, 1969-1997. Progress in Oceanography, 49, 309-329. doi:10.1016/S0079-6611(01)00028-3
[31] Montevecchi, W.A. and Myers, R.A. (1997) Centurial and decadal oceanographic influences on changes in northern gannet populations and diets in the north-west Atlantic: implications for climate change. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 54, 608-614. doi:10.1006/jmsc.1997.0265
[32] Pauly, D., Watson, R. and Alder, J. (2005) Global trends in world fisheries: Impacts on marine ecosystems and food security. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, 360, 5-12. doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1574
[33] Constable, A. J. and S. Doust. (2009) Southern Ocean Sentinel: An international program to assess climate change impacts on marine ecosystems. Report of an International Workshop, ACECRC (Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre), WWF-Australia, Hobart, Australia.
[34] Constable, A. J., de la Mare, W. K., Agnew, D. J., Everson, I. and Miller, D. (2000) Managing fisheries to conserve the Antarctic marine ecosystem: Practical implementation of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). ICES Journal of Marine Science, 57, 778-791. doi:10.1006/jmsc.2000.0725
[35] Furness, R.W. and Camphuysen, K. (1997) Seabirds as monitors of the marine environment. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 54, 726-737. doi:10.1006/jmsc.1997.0243
[36] Mossner, S. and Ballschmiter, K. (1997) Marine mammals as global pollution indicators for organochlorines. Chemosphere, 34, 1285-1296. doi:10.1016/S0045-6535(97)00426-8
[37] Beckmen, K.B., Ylitalo, G.M., Towell, R.G., Krahn, M.M., O’Hara, T.M. and Blake, J.E. (1999) Factors affecting organochlorine contaminant concentrations in milk and blood of northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) dams and pups from St. George Island, Alaska. The Science of the Total Environment, 231, 183-200. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(99)00094-7
[38] Kurup, D.K.N. and Zacharias, V.J. (1994) Birds of Lakshadweep Islands. Forktail, 10, 49-64.
[39] Mathew, D.N., Gandhi, T., Santharam, V., Rajan, V.J. and Mathew, G. (1991) An ornithological expedition to the Lakshadweep archipelago: Assessment of threats to pelagic and other birds and recommendations. An ornithological study. Madras Naturalists’ Society, Madras. http://www.indianbirds.in/pdfs/An%20ornithological%20expedition.pdf
[40] Feare, C.J. (1976) The exploitation of sooty tern eggs in the Seychelles. Biological Conservation, 10, 169-181. doi:10.1016/0006-3207(76)90033-1
[41] Mathew, D.N., Mathew, G. and Gandhi, T. (1996) Breeding seasons and conservation of the terns Sterna fuscata and Anous stolidus in the Lakshadweep. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 93, 507-510.
[42] Jones, H.P., Tershy, B.R., Zavaleta, E.S., Croll, D.A., Keitt, B.S., Finkelstein, M.E. and Howald, G.R. (2008) Severity of the effects of invasive rats on seabirds: A global review. Conservation Biology, 22, 16-26. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00859.x
[43] Pernetta, J.C. (1993) Marine protected area needs in the South Asian Seas Region. A Marine Conservation and Development Report, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Gland.
[44] Feare, C.J. (1984) Seabird status and conservation in the tropical Indian Ocean. In: Croxall, J. P., Evans, P.G.H. and Schreiber, R.W., Eds., Status and Conservation of the World’s Seabirds, International Council for Bird Preservation, Cambridge, 457-471.
[45] Rodgers, W.A. and Panwar, S.H. (1988) Biogeographical classification of India. New Forest, Dehra Dun, India.
[46] Mallory, M.L., Robinson, S.A., Hebert, C.E. and Forbes, M.R. (2010) Seabirds as indicators of aquatic ecosystem conditions: A case for gathering multiple proxies of seabird health. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60, 7-12. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.08.024
[47] Burger, J. and Gochfeld, M. (2004) Marine birds as sentinels of environmental pollution. EcoHealth, 1, 263-274. doi:10.1007/s10393-004-0096-4
[48] Cairns, D.K. (1987) Seabirds as indicators of marine food supplies. Biological Oceanography, 5, 261-271.
[49] Ramesh, A., Tanabe, S., Subramanian, A.N., Mohan, D., Venugopalan, V.K. and Tatsukawa, R. (1990) Persistent organochlorine residues in green mussels from coastal waters of South India. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 21, 587-590. doi:10.1016/0025-326X(90)90608-B
[50] Burger, J. (2002) Food chain differences affect heavy metals in bird eggs in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. Environmental Research, 90, 33-39. doi:10.1006/enrs.2002.4381
[51] Cipro, C.V.Z., Taniguchi, S. and Montone, R.C. (2010) Occurrence of organochlorine compounds in Euphausia superba and unhatched eggs of Pygoscelis genus penguins from Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Antarctica) and estimation of biomagnification factors. Chemosphere, 78, 767-771. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2009.10.006
[52] Qasim, S.Z. and Sengupta, R. (1983) Marine pollution studies in India. In: Varshney, C.K., Ed., Water Pollution and Management Reviews, South Asian Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 139-159.
[53] Staffan, H. (1994) An environmental assessment of the Bay of Bengal Region. The Swedish Centre for Coastal Development and Management of Aquatic Resources (SWEDMAR), Final Report.
[54] Kaly, U.L. (2004) Review of land-based sources of pollution to the coastal and marine environments in the BOBLME Region. Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME) Theme Report, GCP/RAS/179/WBG.10 FAO-BOBLME Programme. http://www.boblme.org/documentRepository/Theme_%20Land%20Based%20Pollution%20-%20%20Urusla%20Kaly.pdf
[55] Sherman, K. (2003) Physical, biological, and human forcing of biomass yields in large marine ecosystems. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Council Meeting. http://info.ices.dk/products/CMdocs/2003/P/P1203.PDF
[56] Heileman, S., Bianchi, G. and Funge-Smithm, S. (2007) LME34: Bay of Bengal. NOAA and Sea around Us Project (SAUP). http://www.lme.noaa.gov/lmeweb/LME_Report/lme_34.pdf
[57] Jaquemet, S., Le Corre, M., Marsac, F., Potier, M. and Weimerskirch, H. (2005) Foraging habitats of the seabird community of Europa Island (Mozambique Channel). Marine Biology, 147, 573-582.
[58] Jaquemet, S., Corre, M.L. and Weimerskirch, H. (2004) Seabird community structure in a coastal tropical environment: Importance of natural factors and fish aggrgating devices (FADs). Marine Ecology Progress Series, 268, 281-292. http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2004/268/m268p281.pdf
[59] Barrett, R.T., Camphuysen, C.J., Anker-Nilssen, T., Chardine, J.W., Furness, R.W., Garthe, S., Huppop, O., Leopold, M.F., Montevecchi, W.A. and Veit, R.R. (2007) Diet studies of seabirds: A review and recommendations. Journal of Marine Science, 64, 1675-1691. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsm152
[60] Abdulali, H. (1964) The birds of Andaman and Nicobar islands. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 61, 483-571.
[61] Abdulali, H. (1942) The distribution of the rosy tern. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 43, 104.
[62] Blyth E. (1846) Notes on the fauna of the Nicobar Islands—Reptilia. Journal of Bombay Natural History So- ciety, 15, 367-379.
[63] Abdulali, H. (1967b) The birds of Nicobar islands. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 64, 139-190.
[64] Baker, E.C.S. (1922-1930) Fauna of British India, Birds (1-8), Taylor & Francis, London.
[65] Ripley II, S.D. (1961) A synopsis of the birds of India and Pakistan. Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai.
[66] Abdulali, H. (1978) The birds of great and car Nicobar islands with some notes on wildlife conservation in the islands. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 75, 744-772.
[67] Balachandran, S. (1995) Shorebirds of the marine national park in the Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 92, 303-313.
[68] Balachandran, S., Rahmani, A.R. and Sathiyaselvam, P. (2005). Habitat evaluation of Chilka Lake with special reference to birds as bioindicators. Final Report (2001-2005), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai.
[69] Li, Z.W.D., Bloem, A., Delany S., Martakis G. and Quintero, J.O. (2009) Status of Waterbirds in Asia—Results of the Asian Waterbird Census: 1987-2007. Wetlands International, Kuala Lumpur.
[70] Stanford, J.K. (1937) On the breeding of the Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus sub sp.) and other birds in the Bengal Sunderbans. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 39, 867-868.
[71] Sivakumar, K. and Sankaran, R. (2002) New records of birds from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Forktail, 18, 149-150.
[72] Aldridge, J. (1998) Skua at Fisherman’s cove. Blackbuck, 14, 1-4.
[73] Yahya, H.S.A and Ahmad, A. (2002) White tern, Gygis alba sighted at Narcondam Island, Bay of Bengal, India. Forktail, 18, 148.
[74] Raju, K.S.R. and Sekhar, P.B. (1971) Some interesting bird record from Point Calimere. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 68, 457-459.
[75] Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India (2008) Handbook on fisheries statistics.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.