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Sterna paradisaea, Arctic tern

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Sterna paradisaea   Pontoppidan, 1763

Arctic tern
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Aves | Charadriiformes | Laridae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Others.  Tropical; 83°N - 86°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 124582)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Circumglobal. Tropical to polar.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 38.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 8812); max. published weight: 110.00 g (Ref. 356)

Short description Morphology

Culmen: 3.35 cm; tarsus: 1.69 cm; wing: 27.0 cm.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Total Length: 33 to 38 cm; Wingspan: 79 to 81 cm (Ref. 8812). Coastal (Ref. 356), found in the beach, shoreline, and pelagic zone (Ref. 116102). Displays surface plunging and dipping (Ref. 356). "Erect" and "sky-pointing" display as an appeasement posture during nesting and in pairing. High level of territorial aggression during pre-incubation and hatching periods. European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) feed on its eggs. Colonial behavior as an anti-predatory tactic by confusing or intimidating its predator. Ruddy Turnstones (A. interpres) steal fish delivered by parents of young birds in colonial nesting sites. Surface feeder. Moves across the great distance from the polar northern hemisphere to the southern polar region to feed after the breeding season; when feeding, tend to spread out pelagically instead of in groups. 1988 La Niña event linked to fledging failure on Mousa Island off Scotland (Ref. 87784).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Lepage, D. 2007. (Ref. 7816)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 07 August 2018

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Appendix II: Migratory species conserved through agreements

Threat to humans

Human uses


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Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 0.4 - 13.3, mean 6.8 (based on 2468 cells).
Resilience (Ref. 69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=67.24-75.43).
Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low to moderate vulnerability (28 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

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