Yelkouan shearwater

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Yelkouan shearwater
Puffinus yelkouan 140249998.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Puffinus
Species:
P. yelkouan
Binomial name
Puffinus yelkouan
(Acerbi, 1827)
Synonyms

Procellaria yelkouanAcerbi, 1827
Puffinus puffinus yelkouan(Acerbi, 1827)
Puffinus yelkouan yelkouan(Acerbi, 1827)

Contents

Egg of the yelkouan shearwater Puffinus yelkouan MHNT ZOO 2010 11 42 Terrier Ile de Riou (13).jpg
Egg of the yelkouan shearwater

The yelkouan shearwater, Levantine shearwater or Mediterranean shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus).

Taxonomy

The yelkouan shearwater was formally described in 1827 by the Italian naturalist Giuseppe Acerbi from specimens collected in the Bosphorus, Turkey. He placed the shearwater in the genus Procellaria and coined the binomial name Procellaria yelkouan. The yelkouan shearwater is now placed in the genus Puffinus was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. [2] [3] The genus name Puffinus is Neo-Latin based on the English "puffin". The specific yelkouan is the Turkish word "wind chaser" for a shearwater. [4] The yelkouan shearwater is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [3]

It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Manx shearwater. [5] After the first split, [6] it was the nominate subspecies of the so-called "Mediterranean shearwater" for nearly ten more years; it is considered a monotypic species now, as the Balearic form mauretanicus has been separated as the Balearic shearwater. [7] [8] [9]

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2021 found very little genetic difference between the yelkouan shearwater and the Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus). The authors of the study suggested that these two taxa might be better considered as subspecies of the same species. [10]

The yelkouan shearwater appears to belong to a group of Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic shearwaters which includes the Balearic shearwater [11] and one to three prehistorically extinct taxa, Hole's and possibly also lava shearwater as well as an undescribed population of uncertain distinctness from Menorca. [12] The two living Mediterranean lineages had probably separated before the end of the Pliocene (c. 2 million years ago), as indicated by molecular differences and the putative direct ancestor of the Balearic shearwater, the Ibizan fossil Puffinus nestori from the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene. [8]

Description

The yelkouan shearwaters is 30–35 cm (12–14 in) in length and has a wingspan of 70–84 cm (28–33 in). [13] It has the typically "shearing" flight of the genus, dipping from side to side on stiff wings with few wingbeats, the wingtips almost touching the water. This bird looks like a flying cross, with its wing held at right angles to the body, and it changes from very dark brown to white as the dark upperparts and paler undersides are alternately exposed as it travels low over the sea.

It is silent at sea, but at night the breeding colonies are alive with raucous cackling calls, higher pitched and more drawn out than the Manx shearwater's.

The yelkouan shearwater has a more contrasted appearance than the Balearic shearwater with which its winter range overlaps, since the latter species is brown above and dirty white below. It is very similar to the black-and-white Manx shearwater of the Atlantic, and stray birds out of their usual range are very difficult to identify with certainty.

Also, at least one mixed breeding colony of the yelkouan and the Balearic shearwaters exists on Menorca. A study of these birds recommended that a combination of morphological characteristics and DNA sequence data should be required at least for scientific purposes to assign individual birds to either species. [14]

Distribution and habitat

Yelkouan shearwaters breed on islands and coastal cliffs in the eastern and central Mediterranean. Most winter in that sea, but small numbers enter the Atlantic in late summer.

Behaviour and ecology

This species nests in burrows which are only visited at night to avoid predation by large gulls.

This is a gregarious species, which can be seen in large numbers from boats or headlands, especially in autumn. The yelkouan shearwater feeds on fish and molluscs. It follows fishing ships when offal is being thrown.

Status and conservation

It is under some threat from the development of holiday resorts near its breeding sites, and also from animals such as rats and cats. On Le Levant Island, one of its major breeding locations, cats kill thousands of birds each year and it is estimated that this may lead to local extinction in several decades. [15]

The study of the Menorcan colony concluded that at least in these westernmost birds, genetic variation was extremely low, suggesting that the yelkouan shearwater may have suffered a marked population decline historically and thus, while not threatened judging from its absolute numbers, it could be vulnerable to adverse effects of inbreeding. [14]

It was formerly classified as a species of least concern by the IUCN. [16] But new research has shown it to be rarer than it was believed. Consequently, it was uplisted to near threatened status in 2008 [17] and vulnerable in 2012. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shearwater</span> Seabird

Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manx shearwater</span> Species of bird

The Manx shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name much later, possibly because of its similar nesting habits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balearic shearwater</span> Species of bird

The Balearic shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. Puffinus is a Neo-Latin loanword based on the English "puffin" and its variants, that referred to the cured carcass of the fat nestling of the Manx shearwater, a former delicacy. The specific mauretanicus refers to Mauretania, an old name for an area of North Africa roughly corresponding to Morocco and Algeria. The Balearic Shearwater is listed critically endangered by the IUCN and is one of Europe’s most endangered seabirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great shearwater</span> Species of bird

The great shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It breeds colonially on rocky islands in the south Atlantic. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely in the Atlantic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cory's shearwater</span> Species of bird

Cory's shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It breeds colonially of rocky islands in the eastern Atlantic. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely in the Atlantic. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with Scopoli's shearwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sooty shearwater</span> Species of bird

The sooty shearwater, or tītī, or muttonbird, is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name tītī, and as muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater and the Australian short-tailed shearwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little shearwater</span> Species of bird

The little shearwater is a small shearwater in the petrel family Procellariidae. Despite the generic name, it is unrelated to the puffins, which are auks, the only similarity being that they are both burrow-nesting seabirds.

<i>Puffinus</i> Genus of birds

Puffinus is a genus of seabirds in the order Procellariiformes that contains about 20 small to medium-sized shearwaters. Two other shearwater genera are named: Calonectris, which comprises three or four large shearwaters, and Ardenna with another seven species.

<i>Calonectris</i> Genus of birds

Calonectris is a genus of seabirds. The genus name comes from Ancient Greek kalos, "good" and nectris, "swimmer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedge-tailed shearwater</span> Species of bird

The wedge-tailed shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and the short-tailed shearwater of Australia. It is found throughout the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, roughly between latitudes 35°N and 35°S. It breeds on the islands off Japan, on the Islas Revillagigedo, the Hawaiian Islands, the Seychelles, the Northern Mariana Islands, and off Eastern and Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audubon's shearwater</span> Species of bird

Audubon's shearwater is a common tropical seabird in the petrel family. Sometimes known as the dusky-backed shearwater, the specific epithet honours the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier.

Mediterranean shearwaterPuffinus mauretanicussensu lato was the name used during the 1990s for what was then regarded as a polytypic species of Puffinus shearwater, but which is now regarded as two separate monotypic species:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Townsend's shearwater</span> Species of bird

Townsend's shearwater is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barolo shearwater</span> Species of bird

The Barolo shearwater, also known as the North Atlantic little shearwater or Macaronesian shearwater, is a small shearwater which breeds in the Azores and Canaries of Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. The English name and the specific baroli refers to Carlo Tencredi Falletti, marquis of Barolo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newell's shearwater</span> Species of bird

Newell's shearwater or Hawaiian shearwater (ʻaʻo), is a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It belongs to a confusing group of shearwaters which are difficult to identify and whose classification is controversial. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater and is now often placed in Townsend's shearwater. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

Puffinus nestori is an extinct seabird in the petrel family. Its fossil remains, dating from the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene, were found on the island of Ibiza of the Balearic archipelago in the western Mediterranean. It was speculated that it was the direct ancestor of the Mediterranean shearwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scopoli's shearwater</span> Species of bird

Scopoli's shearwater is a seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. It breeds on rocky islands and on steep coasts in the Mediterranean but outside the breeding season it forages in the Atlantic. It is brownish grey above with darker wings and mostly white below. The bill is pale yellow with a dark patch near the tip. The sexes are alike. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with Cory's shearwater.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2018). "Puffinus yelkouan". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22698230A132637221. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22698230A132637221.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. Vol. 1, p. 56, Vol. 6, pp. 129-130.
  3. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Petrels, albatrosses". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  4. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  323, 412. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. ↑ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 96.
  6. ↑ Sibley & Monroe (1990)
  7. ↑ Wink, M.; Heidrich, P.; Ristow, D. (1993). "Genetic evidence for speciation of the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) and the Mediterranean Shearwater (P. yelkouan)" (PDF). Die Vogelwelt. 114 (6): 226–232.
  8. 1 2 Heidrich, P.; Amengual, J.; Wink, M. (1998). "Phylogenetic relationships in Mediterranean and North Atlantic shearwaters (Aves: Procellariidae) based on nucleotide sequences of mtDNA". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 26 (2): 145–170. Bibcode:1998BioSE..26..145H. doi:10.1016/S0305-1978(97)00085-9.
  9. ↑ Sangster, G.; Knox, A.G.; Helbig, A.J.; Parkin, D.T. (2002). "Taxonomic recommendations for European birds". Ibis. 144 (1): 153–159. doi:10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x.
  10. ↑ Ferrer Obiol, J.; James, H.F.; Chesser, R.T.; Bretagnolle, V.; González-Solís, J.; Rozas, J.; Welch, A.J.; Riutort, M. (2022). "Palaeoceanographic changes in the late Pliocene promoted rapid diversification in pelagic seabirds". Journal of Biogeography. 49 (1): 171–188. Bibcode:2022JBiog..49..171F. doi: 10.1111/jbi.14291 . hdl: 2445/193747 .
  11. ↑ Austin, Jeremy J. (1996). "Molecular Phylogenetics of Puffinus shearwaters: Preliminary evidence from mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 6 (1): 77–88. doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0060. PMID   8812308.
  12. ↑ Alcover (2001)
  13. ↑ Svensson, Lars; Mullarney, Killian; Zetterström, Dan (2009). Collins Bird Guide (2nd ed.). London: HarperCollins. p. 70. ISBN   978-0-00-726814-6.
  14. 1 2 Genovart, M.; Juste, J.; Oro, D. (2005). "Two sibling species sympatrically breeding: a new conservation concern for the critically endangered Balearic shearwater". Conservation Genetics. 6 (4): 601–606. doi:10.1007/s10592-005-9010-z. hdl: 10261/49223 . S2CID   38540032.
  15. ↑ Bonnaud, E.; Berger, G.; Bourgeois, K.; Legrand, J.; Vidal, E. (2012). "Predation by cats could lead to the extinction of the Mediterranean endemic Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan at a major breeding site". Ibis. 154 (3): 566–577. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2012.01228.x.
  16. ↑ BLI (2004)
  17. ↑ BLI (2008)
  18. ↑ "Recently recategorised species". BirdLife International (2012). Retrieved 14 June 2012.

Sources

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