Winter storms: a potential threat to African oystercatchers Haematopus moquini

Substantial effort has gone into identifying threats to the African oystercatcher Haematopus moquini, a species of seabird native to the mainland coasts and offshore islands of southern Africa. Winter storms represent a possible further threat owing to the potential to exclude an obligate intertidal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:African journal of marine science 2024-04, Vol.46 (2), p.143-148
Main Author: Underhill, LG
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic birds
feeding area
Haematopus moquini
Indigenous species
Marine molluscs
Offshore
Robben Island
Seabirds
shorebirds
significant wave height
Slangkop wave buoy
southeastern Atlantic
storm impact
Storms
Wave buoys
Winter
Winter storms
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Summary:Substantial effort has gone into identifying threats to the African oystercatcher Haematopus moquini, a species of seabird native to the mainland coasts and offshore islands of southern Africa. Winter storms represent a possible further threat owing to the potential to exclude an obligate intertidal forager from its feeding areas for periods of days. Using data from the Slangkop wave buoy off the Cape Peninsula of South Africa during surveys of the number of oystercatchers on Robben Island, and arguments based on body-mass records, the tentative conclusion is that winter storms do not currently represent a threat to the African oystercatcher but this may become a factor in the future.
ISSN:1814-232X
1814-2338
DOI:10.2989/1814232X.2024.2330640