Is the breeding behaviour of nesting seabirds influenced by the presence of a predatory reptile—the tuatara?
Open accessAbstract
Increasing our knowledge of the costs and benefits associated with commensal interactions is necessary both for a better understanding of how ecological communities are structured and for determining conservation actions. We investigated the concomitant use of a burrow by a nesting seabird, the fairy prion ( Pachyptila turtur ), and a medium‐sized predatory reptile, the tuatara ( Sphenodon punctatus ). Arrival time of fairy prions at the burrow each night was found to be delayed by the presence of a tuatara at the burrow. Use of the burrow by tuatara almost halved the time fairy prions spent at the burrow with their chick. The effect of this cohabitation on each species can be expected to change over both space and time, i.e. with changes in population densities and season. Hence it is possible that in newly established colonies of birds with low numbers in the presence of tuatara, tuatara predation may have a deleterious impact.
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Even in locations where predation does not cause serious reductions in population, the presence of native predators can result in shifts in nest attendance, changes to socialization and breeding behavior, and costly physiological stress responses.
“Even in locations where predation does not cause serious reductions in population, the presence of native predators can result in shifts in nest attendance (Corkery et al. 2015; Marsteller et al. 2024), changes to socialization and breeding behavior (Mougeot and Bretagnolle 2000), and costly physiological stress responses (Schaefer and Colombelli‐Négrel 2021; Geldart et al. 2023).”
From River Otter Predation of Nesting Seabirds Along the Coasts of North America (2025) · cites this paper as Corkery et al. 2015
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River Otter Predation of Nesting Seabirds Along the Coasts of North America
Stuntz, L., & Orben, R. A. (2025) · Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1002/ece3.72118
- Authors
- Corkery, I., Bell, B., & Nelson, N.
- Affiliations
- University College Cork (IE)
- Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)
- Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution School of Biological Sciences Victoria University of Wellington Wellington New Zealand
- Corresponding author
- Corkery, I
- ORCID
- Corkery, I
- Venue
- Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-02-23
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 21-30
- ISSN
- 0303-6758 (ISSN-L)
- 1175-8899
- OpenAlex
- W2053814729
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 0.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Allan Wilson Centre
- University of Victoria
- Victoria University
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Avian ecology and behavior
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, fairy prion, seabird nesting, burrow use, predator-prey interactions, reproductive behavior, time of arrival, seabird colonies, New Zealand
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