Recent changes in the summer distribution of the Balearic shearwater <i>Puffinus mauretanicus</i> off western France

Pierre Yésou

doi:10.3989/scimar.2003.67s2143

Recent changes in the summer distribution of the Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus off western France

Authors

Pierre Yésou ONC-Faune Sauvage, Ministère de l’Écologie et du Développement durable

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2003.67s2143

Keywords:

Atlantic Ocean, Balearic shearwater, clupeid fisheries, distribution, English Channel, long-term changes, Puffinus mauretanicus, thermal front

Abstract

Surveys carried out in the 1980s showed that 8,000-10,000 Balearic shearwaters regularly gathered in inshore waters of central and northern Biscay, particularly off the coast of Vendée and in the Mor-Braz area, western France. This distribution, apparently linked to particular oceanographical conditions (thermal front), was strikingly overlapping with that of clupeid fish, particularly anchovies. Recent surveys (1999-2000) have shown that the species has become far less numerous in these "traditional" haunts. Conversely, its abundance has increased in the western Channel, some hundreds of kilometres to the North, during the 1990s. Reasons for this northward shift (e.g. changes in prey distribution due to fishing activities or water warming in Biscay) remain hypothetical and further study is needed.

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Published

2003-07-30

How to Cite

Yésou P. Recent changes in the summer distribution of the Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus off western France. Sci. mar. [Internet]. 2003Jul.30 [cited 2025May1];67(S2):143-8. Available from: https://scientiamarina.revistas.csic.es/index.php/scientiamarina/article/view/540

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Issue

Vol. 67 No. S2 (2003)

Section

Articles

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