Carlos
Zavalaga
Graduate student
Department of Biological Sciences
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
601 South College Road
NC 28403-5915
Phone Lab +1-910-962-3357
My Research interest: Seabird Ecology
The cold Humboldt Current is considered as one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world. Its high primary productivity supports millions of tons of Peruvian anchovies, the main prey of several species of endemic seabirds such as Guanay Cormorants, Peruvian boobies, Peruvian pelicans, Humboldt penguins, Inca terns, Peruvian diving-petrels, among others. This seabird community is affected periodically by El Niņo events, which dramatically reduce marine productivity and lead to seabird breeding failure and mortality. Anchovy overfishing and human population increase in coastal areas in the last 30 years have also affected the distribution and abundance of many seabird species in Peru from several millions to a few thousands. This reduction has been so drastic, that some species are endangered.
I am interested in how these seabirds respond to the rich but unpredictable environment of the Humboldt Current, how they can be used as indicators of marine productivity and how human activities affect their distribution and abundance. My research is mainly focused in examining their breeding and foraging ecology. Are they breeding regimes and some other life-history traits (e.g. breeding frequency, chick growth, reproductive success) different to those inhabiting higher latitudes? what are the ultimate and proximate factors realted to the the onset of breeding? what are their feeding habits? can they switch to different preys when anchovies are not available? what other factors may influence the choice of prey (e.g. group size), how do they obtain their food? are their feeding areas and foraging performance affected by some local oceanographic features?