The seabird Pterodroma deserta follows storms rather than avoiding them and uses the turbulent seas to hunt for food.
A group of scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) discovered that the seabird Pterodroma deserta harnesses the power of storms to feed and actively seeks out storms over the ocean to “ride” them. This new research was published in the journal Cell Biology.
The seabird Pterodroma deserta harnesses the power of storms to hunt for food. (Photo: Kirk Zufelt/WHOI).
“Preliminary studies show that seabirds usually fly around storms or take shelter in the calm eye of the storm. However, the Pterodroma deserta birds we monitored did neither of these. Instead, one-third of the flock followed the storm for several days, covering thousands of kilometers. This is the first time we have observed this behavior,” said Francesco Ventura, a WHOI expert and the lead author of the study.
The seabird Pterodroma deserta is about the size of a pigeon and nests on Bugio Island, Portugal. They spend weeks at sea foraging, making round trips of 12,000 km across the Atlantic Ocean. However, they cannot dive deeply, so they often wait until nightfall for fish, squid, and crustaceans to come closer to the surface.
“We linked the birds’ locations to storm conditions, including wave heights of up to 8 meters and wind speeds of 100 km/h. When encountering strong winds, they reduced their speed relative to the ground, likely to spend less time flying and avoid wing injuries. Additionally, the tailwinds behind the storm provided favorable flying conditions. Remarkably, none of the seabirds we monitored were injured by the storms, and none abandoned their nests,” Ventura noted.
Strong winds and turbulent seas bring cooler deep seawater to the surface. This mixing also increases chlorophyll, making phytoplankton more abundant, which attracts fish, squid, and crustaceans. This creates a seafood feast for the seabirds, allowing them to spend less time and energy foraging.
This is the first recorded instance of such collective “storm riding” behavior. It is also a significant victory for scientists studying how storms and other weather phenomena impact seabirds.
“It is astonishing to see how Pterodroma deserta has learned to effectively utilize large-scale wind conditions in the North Atlantic for their flights. This new study provides valuable insights into the resilience and foraging strategies of seabirds when faced with extreme weather events,” commented Caroline Ummenhofer, a scientist at WHOI.
