Regular habitat switch as an important feeding strategy of an opportunistic seabird species at the interface between land and sea

During deteriorated prey availability, purely pelagic, specialised seabird species have to alter their feeding strategy by extending foraging radii and/or time spent at sea or reducing feeding intervals of chicks. In contrast, more generalised species such as the opportunistic black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) breeding at the German North Sea coast, can be assumed to react on prey shortages by switching foraging habitats. The coastal zone of the German North Sea provides a rich habitat mosaic consisting of the offshore zone, tidal flats and terrestrial habitats. Thus, we expected distinct temporal and spatial patterns of habitat switch in accordance with prey availability and environmental constraints. We carried out ship-based and aerial surveys as well as dietary analyses and observations on flight activity. We found a significant switch from terrestrial to marine feeding sites both on a daily basis (related to tidal cycle) and over the whole breeding season. Most likely, the latter switch is the result of lower prey availability in the terrestrial habitats and an increasing quality (in terms of prey abundance and energy intake) of the marine area. While there was only moderate variability in habitat use among different years, we revealed significant differences in the diet of birds from different colonies. The high dietary plasticity and flexible feeding strategy, switching between terrestrial and marine prey is certainly of major importance for the success of an opportunistic avian top predator in a complex coastal zone. It is suggested that – compared to situations elsewhere – the number of breeding pairs of black-headed gulls in the German North Sea coast are still stable due to the switch of foraging habitats performed by individuals in this region.     

A search for wide visual companions of exoplanet host stars: The Calar Alto Survey

We have carried out a search for co‐moving stellar and substellar companions around 18 exoplanet host stars with the infrared camera MAGIC at the 2.2 m Calar Alto telescope, by comparing our images with images from the all sky surveys 2MASS, POSS I and II. Four stars of the sample namely HD80606, 55 Cnc, HD46375 and BD–10°3166, are listed as binaries in the Washington Visual Double Star Catalogue (WDS). The binary nature of HD80606, 55 Cnc, and HD46375 is confirmed with both astrometry as well as photometry, thereby the proper motion of the companion of HD46375 was determined here for the first time.We derived the companion masses as well as the longterm stability regions for additional companions in these three binary systems. We can rule out further stellar companions around all stars in the sample with projected separations between 270AU and 2500AU, being sensitive to substellar companions with masses down to ∼60 M_Jup (S /N = 3). Furthermore we present evidence that the two components of the WDS binary BD–10°3166 are unrelated stars, i.e this system is a visual pair. The spectrophotometric distance of the primary (a K0 dwarf) is ∼67 pc, whereas the presumable secondary BD–10°3166B (a M4 to M5 dwarf) is located at a distance of 13 pc in the foreground. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Sub-sampling unconsolidated sediments: A solution for the preparation of undistrubed thin-sections from clay‐rich sediments

Using the principles of electro55x/xxlarge8208.gif" alt="dash" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">osmosis, a sub55x/xxlarge8208.gif" alt="dash" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">sampling technique for clay-rich sediments is introduced that produces undisturbed thin55x/xxlarge8208.gif" alt="dash" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">sections from sediment cores. The fragile sample remains in the same disposable box throughout the process, preventing collapse of its structure during sub55x/xxlarge8208.gif" alt="dash" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">sampling, manipulation and impregnation, as well as other potential problems.