Ventura, a postdoctoral biology investigator for the Massachusetts-based Woods Gap Oceanographic Establishment mentioned when saying the findings that scientists reviewing the information “almost fell off our chairs.”
“It was stunning,” Ventura informed The Washington Publish. “As a result of I used to be anticipating the other.”
The findings, printed final week within the journal Present Biology, illustrate conduct that had by no means been recorded in birds, Ventura mentioned. Whereas some birds like Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses and streaked shearwaters fly within the heart of hurricanes for cover, he mentioned no others have been discovered to fly behind the storms for as much as 5 days and 1,512 miles at a time.
Desertas petrels, which reside on Portugal’s Bugio Island, seem to chase hurricanes as a result of the winds trigger ocean mixing — the merging of heat water at an ocean’s floor with cooler water from beneath. That course of makes the birds’ prey — squid, small fish and crustaceans — rise to the floor, making them simpler to grab.
To higher perceive the birds’ conduct, scientists tied GPS trackers to 33 Desertas petrels, hoping to be taught extra about their migratory actions and foraging areas. For a number of weeks through the Atlantic’s hurricane season in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019, researchers tracked their places whereas they searched the ocean for meals — normally after they have been most energetic at evening.
In January 2020, Ventura and different researchers printed a examine that discovered that Desertas petrels fly for tons of of miles at a time to seek for meals. However it wasn’t till final yr that Ventura in contrast his knowledge with hurricane maps.
He mentioned he appeared on the places of six hurricanes between 2015 and 2019 — Gaston, Ophelia, Lee, Gabrielle, Maria and Lorenzo — via the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s local weather tracker. Then, utilizing his knowledge, he examined the place the birds went through the storms.
A number of birds have been discovered to be someplace between 100 and 250 miles from all six storms. Stunned they have been so shut, Ventura mentioned he took the information to Caroline Ummenhofer, an affiliate scientist on the Woods Gap Oceanographic Establishment, late final yr. She confirmed that the birds have been following the path of cool sea temperatures left by the hurricanes, Ventura mentioned.
“It’s a type of moments that make the lifetime of a researcher very thrilling,” Ventura mentioned. “It sort of clicks, and also you’re like, ‘Oh, we’ve one thing right here.’”
The birds withstood waves as much as 26 toes tall and wind speeds of 62 mph to catch their prey, the researchers discovered. They sometimes circled the hurricanes in a clockwise path — typically for greater than 24 hours at a time — earlier than returning to their nests atop steep cliffs, solely taking brief breaks to sleep through the day.
“I like to consider them as very, very skillful sailors,” Ventura mentioned.
Don Lyons, director of conservation science for the Audubon Seabird Institute, a chicken conservation group, mentioned he had by no means seen a seabird observe hurricanes, which might injure or kill birds that get caught in sturdy winds.
“It is smart that some animals, together with these petrels, have realized to benefit from that [ocean] mixing,” Lyons informed The Publish. “What’s stunning, maybe, is simply how carefully they observe the storm.”
Lyons mentioned there are most likely different animals that profit from ocean mixing attributable to hurricanes.
“This examine will most likely encourage folks monitoring different predators to look extra rigorously on the knowledge they’ve or to design research to have a look at these sorts of questions,” Lyons mentioned. “… I’m very positive that [Desertas petrels] are usually not alone in profiting from this phenomenon.”
