Research Areas and Sub-Specialties
Seabird Foraging Ecology
Local
research since 1999 has concentrated on the ecology and foraging
behavior of Royal Terns (Sterna maxima)
at breeding colonies in the Cape Fear River and along the coast
of North Carolina and Virginia. Studies completed so far in this
program include the use of radiotelemetry to investigate
foraging behavior, analysis of genotoxic exposure
in tern blood from pollutants, and studies on the foraging
ecology of Royal and Sandwich Terns (S. sandvicensis).
Ongoing studies include investigation of adult cohort survival
in relation to annual variation in the marine environment, observations
of chick feedings by adults to determine diet, correlation of chick
diet with fishery stock abundance and chick growth rates,
and sex ratios in adult and juvenile terns using blood analyses.
Future studies will expand on this research and will include phylogeographic
investigations of Royal Terns along the eastern Atlantic
seaboard. These studies take place during the summer months from
May through July each year.
Faculty researching this area include:
 Steven Emslie |
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