Main Ref. | SAUP Database, 2006 |
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Remarks | Estuarine. Found on beach and shoreline (Ref. 116102). Plunge diver; dipping; coastal (Ref. 356). Low rate of mate retention; 75% of individuals change mates between years; attributed to tendency to change nesting localities annually. Nests solitarily or colonially. Variations in nest site quality and mate quality observed. Shifts breeding location and colony site when environment becomes unstable; as in cases of flooding, a factor reducing site fidelity. Possibly a pollutant-related behavioral response to PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) levels in the North American Great Lakes is lower nest-site tenacity of this species in the area. On the Colombia River, world's largest colony of Caspian Terns were questionably displaced in an attempt to protect hatchery-raised salmon molts on the river (Ref. 87784). |
Marine - Neritic | Marine - Oceanic | Brackishwater | Freshwater | |
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Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies |
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Substrate | |
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Substrate Ref. | |
Special habitats | |
Special habitats Ref. |
Ref. | Schreiber, E.A. and J. Burger, 2001 |
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Associations | colony-forming/symphorism; |
Associated with | |
Association remarks | |
Parasitism |
Feeding type | mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up) |
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Feeding type Ref. | Karpouzi, V.S., 2005 |
Feeding habit | hunting macrofauna (predator) |
Feeding habit Ref. | Karpouzi, V.S., 2005 |
Estimation method | original sample | unfished population | Remark | ||
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Troph | s.e. | Troph | s.e. | ||
From diet composition | 4.44 | 0.79 | Troph of juv./adults. | ||
From individual food items | 4.29 | 0.94 | Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine. | ||
Ref. | Blaber, S.J.M., D.A. Milton, G.C. Smith and M.J. Farmer, 1995 |