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Nazca booby

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Nazca booby
Adult onEspañola Island,Galapagos Islands
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Suliformes
Family: Sulidae
Genus: Sula
Species:
S. granti
Binomial name
Sula granti

TheNazca booby(Sula granti) is a largeseabirdof theboobyfamily,Sulidae,native to the eastern Pacific. First described byWalter Rothschildin 1902, it was long considered a subspecies of themasked boobyuntil recognised as distinct genetically and behaviorally in 2002. It has a typical sulid body shape, with a long pointed orange-yellow bill, long neck, aerodynamic body, long slender wings and pointed tail. The adult is bright white with black and white wings, a black tail and a dark face mask.

Taxonomy

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Walter Rothschildorganised and sent an expedition to the Galapagos Islands in 1897 to collect and review the animal life there. He wrote of a distinctive booby there, which he andWilliam Robert Ogilvie-Grantdiagnosed as thePeruvian booby(Sula variegata), then only known from juvenile plumage.[2]Later, in 1902, Rothschild named it a new species,Sula granti.[3]Rothschild later reclassified as a subspecies of themasked booby.[4]

In 1998, Pitman and colleagues observed that Nazca boobies onClipperton Islanddid not interbreed with masked boobies there.[5]

The genusSulawas previously placed in the orderPelecaniformes,but recently was collected in the familySulidaeand orderSuliformes,together with 8 other genera.[6]The Nazca booby was considered conspecific with themasked boobybut was reassigned to a separate species based onmitochondrial DNAanalyses. It is likely to have diverged 400,000-500,000 years ago.[7]

Description

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The species has a yellow iris, orange and pinkish beak, black facial skin in the form of a mask, and grey feet. Adults present white plumage with black tips of the wings and tail. The female is bigger and heavier than the male, has a slightly differently colored beak, and squawks while the male whistles. Chicks are snow white and fluffy, plumage changing to grey along with beak and feet upon fledging.[8]

Distribution and habitat

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The species occurs in the eastern Pacific from the islands in Baja California to theGalápagos Islandsand theIsla de la Platain Ecuador andMalpeloin Colombia.[9][10]

Ecology

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Feeding

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The Nazca booby preys on small fish caught by diving at high speed from flight into the ocean. The main food species isSouth American pilchard,but also take flying fish, anchovies and squid, especially during theEl Niñoevents, when sardine numbers are low.[11]Because of their sexual dimorphism, females tend to feed on bigger prey and dive deeper.[12]

Reproduction

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The Nazca booby nests near cliffs on bare ground with little to no vegetation.[7]The male chooses and defends a territory, then enters into courtship to attract females.[13]

Like many seabirds, the species has a long lifespan combined with low annual reproduction and long periods of development in the young. Clutch size is one or two eggs, due to the low hatching success, however when 2 eggs are laid and they both hatch, it is common for only one of the chicks to survive.[14]Usually, whichever is the first to hatch is the one that survives.[15]

While many species of birds regulate egg temperature via an incubation patch, a layer of bare skin that allows birds to transmit heat into their eggs, the Suliformes instead use the skin on their webbed feet in addition to heat transferred from the breast. The feet are heavilyvascularized,especially during the nesting period.[16]Both the male and the female show parental care.[17]Usually the chick that hatches first is bigger and becomes aggressive towards its sibling, excluding it from feeding and eventually starving it.[14]

The energy investment on the parent's part is very high, so their metabolic rates change during the nesting season. This causes both parents to lose similar amounts of body weight and suffer a decline in their immune system activity.[17]This adjustment does not take place when the parents decide not to nest, a decision that is mostly driven by food availability, which in turn depends on ocean current and climate patterns such as those driven by theEl Niñooscillation.[11]

Siblicidehas been well studied in this species; the first chick is born around five days before the second and is larger and stronger by the time the second is born. It drags its younger sibling out of the nest. Field experiments in the Galapagos demonstrated that the boobies can manage to feed two chicks without too much difficulty. This raises questions as to the origin of the phenomenon.[18][19]

Parasites

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Thevampire ground finchsometimes feeds on the blood of the Nazca booby.[20]

Conservation

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The Nazca booby is classified asLeast Concernby theIUCN.Although populations are thought to decrease to some extent, this decline is not strong enough to require classification in a threat category. Some of the factors that influence the decrease of populations areoverfishingandmarine pollution.[11][21]

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References

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  1. ^BirdLife International (2018)."Sula granti".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2018:e.T22728990A132659882.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22728990A132659882.en.Retrieved12 November2021.
  2. ^Rothschild, Walter; Hartert, E. (1899)."A Review of the Ornithology of the Galapagos Islands. With Notes on the Webster-Harris Expedition".Novitates Zoologicae.VI(2): 85–205 [178].
  3. ^Rothschild, Walter (1902)."An overlooked species of gannet".Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.13:7.
  4. ^Rothschild, Walter (1915)."Notes on the genusSula".Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.35:41–45.
  5. ^Pitman, Robert L.; Jehl, Joseph R.; Joseph L. Jehl (1998-01-01). "Geographic Variation and Reassessment of Species Limits in the" Masked "Boobies of the Eastern Pacific Ocean".The Wilson Bulletin.110(2): 155–70.JSTOR4163925.
  6. ^Wenny, Daniel G.; Devault, Travis L.; Johnson, Matthew D.; Kelly, Dave; Sekercioglu, Cagan H.;Tomback, Diana F.;Whelan, Christopher J. (2011-01-01)."The Need to Quantify Ecosystem Services Provided By Birds".The Auk.128(1): 1–14.doi:10.1525/auk.2011.10248.ISSN0004-8038.S2CID4787044.
  7. ^abFriesen, V. L.; Anderson, D. J.; Steeves, T. E.; Jones, H.; Schreiber, E. A. (2002-01-01). "Molecular Support for Species Status of the Nazca Booby (Sula granti)".The Auk.119(3): 820–826.doi:10.2307/4089981.JSTOR4089981.
  8. ^Ridgely, R. S.; Greenfield, P.J. (2006).Aves del Ecuador. Guía de Campo.Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco. p. 92.
  9. ^"Nazca Booby (Sula granti) - BirdLife species factsheet".birdlife.org.Retrieved2016-10-01.
  10. ^Pitman, Robert L.; Jehl, Joseph R.; Joseph L. Jehl (1998-01-01). "Geographic Variation and Reassessment of Species Limits in the" Masked "Boobies of the Eastern Pacific Ocean".The Wilson Bulletin.110(2): 155–170.JSTOR4163925.
  11. ^abcCrawford, R. J. M.; Goya, E.; Roux, J.-P.; Zavalaga, C. B. (2006-11-01). "Comparison of assemblages and some life-history traits of seabirds in the Humboldt and Benguela systems".African Journal of Marine Science.28(3–4): 553–560.Bibcode:2006AfJMS..28..553C.doi:10.2989/18142320609504205.ISSN1814-232X.S2CID84133059.
  12. ^García-R, Silvana; López-Victoria, Mateo (2008-12-15)."Sexual differences in body size and diet in the Nazca Booby (Sula granti)".Ornitología Colombiana(7).ISSN1794-0915.
  13. ^Maness, Terri J.; Westbrock, Mark A.; Anderson, David J. (2007-01-01). "Ontogenic Sex Ratio Variation in Nazca Boobies Ends in Male-Biased Adult Sex Ratio".Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology.30(1): 10–16.doi:10.1675/1524-4695(2007)030[0010:osrvin]2.0.co;2.JSTOR4501789.S2CID44437249.
  14. ^abTarlow, Elisa M; Wikelski, Martin; Anderson, David J (2001-08-01). "Hormonal Correlates of Siblicide in Galapagos Nazca Boobies".Hormones and Behavior.40(1): 14–20.doi:10.1006/hbeh.2001.1661.PMID11467880.S2CID24718563.
  15. ^Greenfieldboyce, Nell (May 1, 2024)."For birds, siblinghood can be a matter of life or death".NPR.
  16. ^Morgan, Stephanie M.; Ashley-Ross, Miriam A.; Anderson, David J. (2003-05-01). "Foot-Mediated Incubation: Nazca Booby (Sula granti) Feet as Surrogate Brood Patches".Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.76(3): 360–366.doi:10.1086/375430.ISSN1522-2152.PMID12905122.S2CID2988234.
  17. ^abManess, Terri J.; Anderson, David J. (2007-01-01)."Serial Monogamy and Sex Ratio Bias in Nazca Boobies".Proceedings: Biological Sciences.274(1621): 2047–2054.doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.0578.JSTOR25249287.PMC2275186.PMID17567557.
  18. ^Anderson, David J. (1990). "Evaluation of Obligate Siblicide in Boobies. 2: Food Limitation and Parent-Offspring Conflict".Evolution.44(8): 2069–82.doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1990.tb04312.x.JSTOR2409616.PMID28564435.S2CID205777351.
  19. ^Anderson, David J. 1990. "Evolution of Obligate Siblicide in Boobies 1. A Test of the Insurance-Egg Hypothesis." The American Naturalist 135, vol. 3: 334-350
  20. ^Michel, Alice J.; Ward, Lewis M.; Goffredi, Shana K.; Dawson, Katherine S.; Baldassarre, Daniel T.; Brenner, Alec; Gotanda, Kiyoko M.; McCormack, John E.; Mullin, Sean W. (2018-09-19)."The gut of the finch: uniqueness of the gut microbiome of the Galápagos vampire finch".Microbiome.6(1): 167.doi:10.1186/s40168-018-0555-8.ISSN2049-2618.PMC6146768.PMID30231937.
  21. ^Takasuka, Akinori; Oozeki, Yoshioki; Aoki, Ichiro (2007-05-01). "Optimal growth temperature hypothesis: Why do anchovy flourish and sardine collapse or vice versa under the same ocean regime?".Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.64(5): 768–776.doi:10.1139/f07-052.ISSN0706-652X.