South Carolina Project: Tracking Atlantic and Caribbean Seabirds

South Carolina Project

Tracking Atlantic and Caribbean Seabirds

January 2014 - December 2024

Personnel

Participating Agencies

CESU
FWS R4
Neotropical Bird Club
SE Region
Clemson University Institute for Parks

The Caribbean and Bahamas support ~ 25 species of breeding seabirds. Despite the regions importance to seabird conservation and diversity, seabirds there have been very understudied particularly with respect to migratory connectivity throughout the Atlantic. Our goal has been to steadily increase baseline data on the spatial ecology of seabirds in the region by partnering with local NGOs to build local capacity.

To date, we have collected tracking data from several species of pelagic seabirds in Mexico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, The Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, St Eustatius and Tobago in collaboration with federal agencies, and local Universities and NGOs. One particular focus of our research in the region has been to expand research and baseline data on the endangered Black-capped Petrel. The species is endemic to the region, nesting at only a few sites on Hispaniola. Considered globally endangered, the species is under review for listing by the US FWS. We are conducting research on movement ecology, diet, and reproductive ecology with local partners and to date have conducted the only tracking efforts for this species.

Research Publications

Research Publications	Publication Date
Zaluski, S., L.M. Soanes, J.A. Bright, A. George, P.G.R. Jodice, K. Meyer, N. Woodfield-Pascoe, J.A. Green. 2019. Potential threats facing a globally important population of the magnificent frigatebird. Tropical Zoology 32: 188-201. /doi/full/10.1080/03946975.2019.1682352 \| Download	December 2019
Wilkinson, B.P., A.M. Haynes-Sutton, L. Meggs, and P.G.R Jodice. 2020. High spatial fidelity among foraging trips of Masked Boobies from Pedro Bank, Jamaica. PLoOS ONE 15(4): e0231654. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231654 \| Download	April 2020
Satgé, Y.G., S. Janssen, E. Rupp, B. Patteson, C. Gaskin, P.G.R. Jodice. 2024. Mesopelagic diet as pathway of high mercury levels in body feathers of the endangered Diablotin Black-capped Petrel. Marine Ornithology 52:261-274. \| Download	October 2024
Satgé, Y.G., E. Rupp, and P.G.R. Jodice. 2019. A preliminary report of ongoing research of the ecology of Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata) in Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic – I: GPS tracking of breeding adults. Unpublished Report, South Carolina Cooperative Research Unit, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA.	June 2019
Satgé, Y.G., E. Rupp, A. Brown, and P.G.R Jodice. 2020. Habitat modelling locates nesting areas of the Endangered Black-capped Petrel Pterodroma hasitata on Hispaniola and identifies habitat loss. Bird Conservation International 1-18. doi:10.1017/S0959270920000490 \| Download	November 2020
Satgé, Y.G., B. Keitt, C. Gaskin, P.G.R. Jodice. 2023. Spatial segregation between phenotypes of the diablotin black-capped petrel Pterodroma hasitata during the non-breeding period. Endangered Species Research. 51:183-201. doi: 10.3352/esr01254 \| Download	July 2023
Ramos, R., V.H. Paiva, Z. Zajkova, C. Precheur, A.I. Fagundes, P.G.R. Jodice, W. Mackin, V. Neves, F. Zino, V. Bretagnolle, J. Gonzalez-Solis. 2020. Spatial ecology of closely related taxa: the case of the little shearwater complex in the North Atlantic Ocean. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society XX 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa045 \| Download	May 2020
Ramos, R., N. Carlile, J. Madeiros, I. Ramirez, V. Paiva, H. Dinis, F. Zino, M. Biscoito, G. Leal, L. Bugoni, P.G.R. Jodice, P.G. Ryan, J. Gonzalez-Solis. 2017. The time for oceanic seabirds: tracking year-round distribution of gadfly petrels across the Atlantic Ocean. Diversity and Distributions.	May 2017
Poli, C.L., A-L. Harrison, A. Vallarino, P.D. Gerard, Jodice, P.G.R. 2017. Dynamic oceanography predicts fine scale foraging behavior of Masked Boobies in the Gulf of Mexico. PLoS ONE 12(6): e0178318. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178318	April 2017
Madden, H., Y.G. Satgé, B.P. Wilkinson, P.G.R. Jodice. 2022. Foraging ecology of Red-billed Tropicbirds in the Caribbean during early chick-rearing revealed by GPS tracking. Marine Ornithology 50:165-175. \| Download	November 2022
Madden, H., M. Leopold, F. Rivera-Milan, K. Verdel, E. Eggermont, P.G.R. Jodice. Reproductive success of Red-billed Tropicbirds on St. Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands is affected by temporal and oceanographic factors, but not by factors at the nest site. Waterbids. \| Download	December 2022
Jodice, P.G.R., R.A. Ronconi, E. Rupp, G.E. Wallace, Y. Satge. 2015. First satellite tracks of the endangered Black-capped Petrel. Endangered Species Research 29:23-33. doi: 10.3354/esr00697 \| Abstract \| Download	November 2015	The Black-capped Petrel is an endangered seabird with fewer than 2,000 breeding pairs restricted to three confirmed breeding sites in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. To date, use areas at sea have been determined entirely from vessel-based surveys and opportunistic sightings and, as such, spatial and temporal gaps in our understanding of the species’ marine range are likely. To enhance our understanding of marine use areas we deployed satellite tags on three Black-capped Petrels breeding in the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park in the Dominican Republic along the border with Haiti, representing the first tracking study for this species and one of the first tracking studies for any breeding seabird in the Caribbean. During chick-rearing, petrels primarily used marine habitats in the southern Caribbean Sea, between the breeding site and the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. Maximum distance from the breeding sites ranged from ca. 500 – 1500 km during the chick-rearing period. During the post-breeding period, each bird dispersed north and used waters west of the Gulf Stream offshore of the mid- and southern Atlantic coasts of the USA, as well Gulf Stream waters and deeper pelagic waters east of the Gulf Stream in the vicinity of the Blake Spur and Charleston Bump. Maximum distance from the breeding sites ranged from ca. 2000 – 2200 km among birds during the nonbreeding period. In total, petrels used waters located within 14 different exclusive economic zones suggesting that evolving management strategies for this species will be benefitted by continued international collaboration.
Jodice, P.G.R., P.E. Michael, J.S. Gleason, J.C. Haney, Y.G. Satgé. 2021. Revising the marine range of the endangered black-capped petrel Pterodroma hasitata: Occurrence in the northern Gulf of Mexico and exposure to conservation threats. Endangered Species Research. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr001143. \| Abstract \| Download	September 2021	The black-capped petrel (<i>Pterodroma hasitata</i>) is an endangered seabird endemic to the western north Atlantic. Although estimated at ~1,000 breeding pairs, only ~100 nests have been located at two sites in Haiti and three sites in the Dominican Republic. At sea, the species primarily occupies waters of the western Gulf Stream in the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. Due to limited data, there is currently not a consensus on the geographic marine range of the species although no current proposed ranges include the Gulf of Mexico. Here, we report on observations of black-capped petrels during two vessel-based survey efforts throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico from 2010 - 2011 and from 2017 - 2019. During 558 days and ~54,700 km of surveys we tallied 40 black-capped petrels. Most observations occurred in the eastern Gulf, although birds were observed over much of the east-west and north-south footprint of the survey area. Predictive models indicated that habitat suitability for black-capped petrels was highest in areas associated with dynamic waters of the Loop Current. We used the Extent of Occurrence (EOO) and Area of Occupancy (AOO) concepts to delimit the geographic range of the species within the northern Gulf of Mexico. We suggest that the marine range for black-capped petrels be modified to include the northern Gulf of Mexico, recognizing that distribution may be more clumped in the eastern Gulf and that occurrence in the southern Gulf remains unknown due to a lack of surveys there. To date, however, it remains unclear which nesting areas are linked to the Gulf of Mexico.
Danielson-Oweczynsky, H., H. Madden, P.G.R. Jodice. In prep. Filial infanticide by egg destruction in Red-billed Tropicbirds on the Caribbean Island of Sint Eustatius. Marine Ornithology 51:261-264. \| Download	October 2023
Clark, BC, et al. Global assessment of plastic encounter risk for marine birds. Nature. \| Download	July 2023

Presentations

Presentations	Presentation Date
Satgé, Y.G., E. Rupp, and P.G.R. Jodice. 2025. Satellite tracking suggests differences in year-round distribution of dark and light phenotypes of an endangered endemic Caribbean petrel, the Diablotin Black-capped Petrel Pterodroma hasitata. Waterbird Society - Pacific Seabird Group Joint Conference.	January 2025
Satgé, Y., and P.G.R. Jodice. 2020. Looking for the devil's nest: Modelling the nesting habitat of the endangered Black-capped Petrel in the Caribbean. 6th World Seabird Twitter Conference.	May 2020
Jodice, P.G.R., J. Gleason, J.C. Haney, Y. Satgé, P. Michael, C. Gaskin, B. Keitt. 2024. Distribution of a Globally Endangered Seabird in the Northern Gulf: A Range Revision for the Black-capped Petrel. Gulf of Mexico Annual Conference, Tampa, Florida.	February 2023
Jodice, P.G.R., J. Gleason, J.C. Haney, Y. Satgé, P. Michael, C. Gaskin, B. Keitt. 2021. Revising the marine range of the endangered Black-capped Petrel. 6th World Seabird Twitter Conference.	May 2021

Theses and Dissertations

Theses and Dissertations	Publication Date
Poli, C. 2014. Spatial Ecology of Pelecaniformes. MS Thesis Clemson University	December 2014
Madden, H. 2017. Reproductive Ecology of Red-billed Tropicbirds. University of West Indies.	December 2017

Data or Software Releases

Type	Citation	Publication Date
Data Release	Satgé, Y.G., E. Rupp, and P.G.R. Jodice. 2019. A preliminary report of ongoing research of the ecology of Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata) in Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic – I: GPS tracking of breeding adults. Unpublished Report, South Carolina Cooperative Research Unit, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA. U.S. Geological Survey, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9UHASY4	April 2019
Data Release	Satgé, Y.G., E. Rupp, A. Brown, P.G.R. Jodice. 2020. Nesting habitat suitability for the Black-capped Petrel Pterodroma hasitata on Hispaniola, Supplementary Material: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9FWJPBD.	April 2019
Data Release	Poli, C.L, A-L. Harrison, A. Vallarino, P.D. Gerard, Jodice, P.G.R. 2017. Dynamic oceanography predicts fine scale foraging behavior of Masked Boobies in the Gulf of Mexico. PLoS ONE 12(6): e0178318. https://www.movebank.org Movebank ID: 276604823	February 2017
Data Release	Jodice, P.G.R., and B.P. Wilkinson. 2020. At-sea movements of Masked Boobies from Pedro Cays, Jamaica, 2012: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9AK95EG.	November 2020

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: South Carolina Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources