First GPS record of a Red-legged Cormorant off the coast of Peru suggests pelagic foraging behavior

Francis van Oordt; Jaime Silva; Fritz Hertel; Kyle H. Elliott

doi:10.56178/eh.v40i1.1511

Short Communications Published 13 July 2025 https://doi.org/10.56178/eh.v40i1.1511

First GPS record of a Red-legged Cormorant off the coast of Peru suggests pelagic foraging behavior

foraging ecology foraging habitat Peruvian Humboldt Current System Red-legged Cormorant seabird movements

Francis van Oordt McGill University, Department of Natural Resources, Montreal, Canada

Jaime Silva Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Peru

Fritz Hertel California State University Northridge, USA

Kyle H. Elliott McGill University, Department of Natural Resources, Montreal, Canada

Abstract

Red-legged Cormorants (Poikilocarbo gaimardi) are distributed along the Pacific coast of South America, from Peru to Chile, and restricted to southernmost Argentina along the Atlantic coast. Population monitoring of this species in the Pacific is scarce and research on their ecology has been limited to Argentina, where it has been considered a rocky bottom feeder, travelling distances of ~3 km away from the nest. We deployed and retrieved a GPS device on one adult Red-legged Cormorant at Punta Atico, Arequipa, Peru, in June 2018. Foraging trips of the tracked individual were on average ~6 km away from the nest and reached a maximum of 10 km. More than 50% of trips occurred in pelagic habitats and were widely dispersed around the nest. Based on the observation of this individual we suggest that in the productive Peruvian Humboldt Current System, Red-legged Cormorants may be pelagic foragers rather than benthic specialists. These results have important implications for conservation strategies aimed to protect this seabird species along the Peruvian coast.

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References

Barros R, Norambuena HV, Raimilla V (2014) Breeding Population of Red-Legged Cormorant (Phalacrocorax gaimardi) along the Araucania Region Coast, South-Central Chile. cowa 37:331–334. doi: 10.1675/063.037.0311
Bennison A, Bearhop S, Bodey TW, Votier SC, Grecian WJ, Wakefield ED, Hamer KC, Jessopp M (2018) Search and foraging behaviors from movement data: A comparison of methods. Ecology and Evolution 8:13–24. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3593
Bracis C, Gurarie E, Moorter BV, Goodwin RA (2015) Memory Effects on Movement Behavior in Animal Foraging. PLOS ONE 10:e0136057. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136057
Calenge C, Fortmann-Roe S (2024) adehabitatHR: Home Range Estimation
Crawford RJM, Jahncke J (1999) Comparison of trends in abundance of guano-producing seabirds in Peru and southern Africa. South African Journal of Marine Science 21:145–156. doi: 10.2989/025776199784126006
Duffy DC (1983) The Foraging Ecology of Peruvian Seabirds. The Auk 100:800–810. doi: 10.1093/auk/100.4.800
Frere E, Gandini P, Ruiz J, Vilina YA (2004) Current status and breeding distribution of Red-legged Cormorant Phalacrocorax gaimardi along the Chilean coast. Bird Conservation International 14:113–121. doi: 10.1017/S0959270904000139
Frere E, Millones A (2021) Red-legged Cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi), version 1.1. Birds of the World. doi: 10.2173/bow.relcor1.01.1species_shared.bow.project_name
Frere E, Quintana F, Gandini P, Wilson RP (2008) Foraging behaviour and habitat partitioning of two sympatric cormorants in Patagonia, Argentina. Ibis 150:558–564. doi: 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2008.00824.x
Gandini P, Frere E, Quintana F (2005) Feeding Performance and Foraging Area of the Red-Legged Cormorant. Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology 28:41–45
Garcia-Cegarra AM, Ramirez R, Orrego R (2020) Red-legged cormorant uses plastic as nest material in an artificial breeding colony of Atacama Desert coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin 160:111632. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111632
Hamann M, Grémillet D, Ryan P, Bonadonna F, Van Der Lingen C, Pichegru L (2012) A hard-knock life: the foraging ecology of Cape cormorants amidst shifting prey resources and industrial fishing pressure. African Journal of Marine Science 34:233–240. doi: 10.2989/1814232X.2012.709960
Hijmans RJ, Roger Bivand, Emanuele Cordano, Krzysztof Dyba, Edzer Pebesma, Michael D. Sumner (2023) terra: Spatial Data Analysis
Jahncke J, Checkley DM, Hunt GL (2004) Trends in carbon flux to seabirds in the Peruvian upwelling system: effects of wind and fisheries on population regulation. Fisheries Oceanogr 13:208–223. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2419.2004.00283.x
Kotzerka J, Hatch SA, Garthe S (2011) Evidence for Foraging-Site Fidelity and Individual Foraging Behavior of Pelagic Cormorants Rearing Chicks in the Gulf of Alaska. The Condor 113:80–88. doi: 10.1525/cond.2011.090158
Meza-Chuquizuta C, Zavalaga CB, Lozano-Sanllehi S, Gonzales-DelCarpio DD (2024) Prevalence of plastic debris in nests of two cormorant species in Peru. Marine Pollution Bulletin 205:116601. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116601
Morgenthaler A, Millones A, Gandini P, Frere E (2016) Pelagic or benthic prey? Combining trophic analyses to infer the diet of a breeding South American seabird, the Red-legged Cormorant, Phalacrocorax gaimardi. Emu - Austral Ornithology 116:360–369. doi: 10.1071/MU15101
Morgenthaler A, Millones A, Gandini P, Procopio D, Frere E (2025) Sympatric seabirds: exploring multidimensional niche partitioning among four cormorant species. Marine Ecology Progress Series 752:169–186. doi: 10.3354/meps14751
Potier S, Carpentier A, Grémillet D, Leroy B, Lescroël A (2015) Individual repeatability of foraging behaviour in a marine predator, the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo. Animal Behaviour 103:83–90. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.02.008
R Core Team (2024) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing
Ryan PG, Pichegru L, Ropert-Coudert Y, Grémillet D, Kato A (2010) On a wing and a prayer: the foraging ecology of breeding Cape cormorants. Journal of Zoology 280:25–32. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00637.x
SERFOR (2018) Libro Rojo de la Fauna Silvestre Amenazada del Perú, Primera edición. SERFOR (Servicio Nacional Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre), Lima, Perú
Vilina YA, Gonzalez JL (1995) Observations of breeding red-legged cormorants Phalacrocorax gaimardi in the north of Chile. Marine Ornithology 22:247–250
Weimerskirch H, Bertrand S, Silva J, Bost C, Peraltilla S (2012) Foraging in Guanay cormorant and Peruvian booby, the major guano-producing seabirds in the Humboldt Current System. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 458:231–245. doi: 10.3354/meps09752
Zavalaga CB, Frere E, Gandini P (2002) Status of the Red-Legged Cormorant in Peru: What Factors Affect Distribution and Numbers? Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology 25:8–15
Zavalaga CB, Paredes R (1999) Foraging behaviour and diet of the guanay cormorant. South African Journal of Marine Science 21:251–258. doi: 10.2989/025776199784125980

How to cite

Francis van Oordt, Jaime Silva, Fritz Hertel, Kyle H. Elliott (2025). First GPS record of a Red-legged Cormorant off the coast of Peru suggests pelagic foraging behavior. El Hornero, Vol. 40 No. 1 (2025), 99-104. https://doi.org/10.56178/eh.v40i1.1511

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[1] Barros R, Norambuena HV, Raimilla V (2014) Breeding Population of Red-Legged Cormorant (Phalacrocorax gaimardi) along the Araucania Region Coast, South-Central Chile. cowa 37:331–334. doi: 10.1675/063.037.0311

[2] Bennison A, Bearhop S, Bodey TW, Votier SC, Grecian WJ, Wakefield ED, Hamer KC, Jessopp M (2018) Search and foraging behaviors from movement data: A comparison of methods. Ecology and Evolution 8:13–24. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3593

[3] Bracis C, Gurarie E, Moorter BV, Goodwin RA (2015) Memory Effects on Movement Behavior in Animal Foraging. PLOS ONE 10:e0136057. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136057

[4] Calenge C, Fortmann-Roe S (2024) adehabitatHR: Home Range Estimation

[5] Crawford RJM, Jahncke J (1999) Comparison of trends in abundance of guano-producing seabirds in Peru and southern Africa. South African Journal of Marine Science 21:145–156. doi: 10.2989/025776199784126006

[6] Duffy DC (1983) The Foraging Ecology of Peruvian Seabirds. The Auk 100:800–810. doi: 10.1093/auk/100.4.800

[7] Frere E, Gandini P, Ruiz J, Vilina YA (2004) Current status and breeding distribution of Red-legged Cormorant Phalacrocorax gaimardi along the Chilean coast. Bird Conservation International 14:113–121. doi: 10.1017/S0959270904000139

[8] Frere E, Millones A (2021) Red-legged Cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi), version 1.1. Birds of the World. doi: 10.2173/bow.relcor1.01.1species_shared.bow.project_name

[9] Frere E, Quintana F, Gandini P, Wilson RP (2008) Foraging behaviour and habitat partitioning of two sympatric cormorants in Patagonia, Argentina. Ibis 150:558–564. doi: 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2008.00824.x

[10] Gandini P, Frere E, Quintana F (2005) Feeding Performance and Foraging Area of the Red-Legged Cormorant. Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology 28:41–45

[11] Garcia-Cegarra AM, Ramirez R, Orrego R (2020) Red-legged cormorant uses plastic as nest material in an artificial breeding colony of Atacama Desert coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin 160:111632. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111632

[12] Hamann M, Grémillet D, Ryan P, Bonadonna F, Van Der Lingen C, Pichegru L (2012) A hard-knock life: the foraging ecology of Cape cormorants amidst shifting prey resources and industrial fishing pressure. African Journal of Marine Science 34:233–240. doi: 10.2989/1814232X.2012.709960

[13] Hijmans RJ, Roger Bivand, Emanuele Cordano, Krzysztof Dyba, Edzer Pebesma, Michael D. Sumner (2023) terra: Spatial Data Analysis

[14] Jahncke J, Checkley DM, Hunt GL (2004) Trends in carbon flux to seabirds in the Peruvian upwelling system: effects of wind and fisheries on population regulation. Fisheries Oceanogr 13:208–223. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2419.2004.00283.x

[15] Kotzerka J, Hatch SA, Garthe S (2011) Evidence for Foraging-Site Fidelity and Individual Foraging Behavior of Pelagic Cormorants Rearing Chicks in the Gulf of Alaska. The Condor 113:80–88. doi: 10.1525/cond.2011.090158

[16] Meza-Chuquizuta C, Zavalaga CB, Lozano-Sanllehi S, Gonzales-DelCarpio DD (2024) Prevalence of plastic debris in nests of two cormorant species in Peru. Marine Pollution Bulletin 205:116601. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116601

[17] Morgenthaler A, Millones A, Gandini P, Frere E (2016) Pelagic or benthic prey? Combining trophic analyses to infer the diet of a breeding South American seabird, the Red-legged Cormorant, Phalacrocorax gaimardi. Emu - Austral Ornithology 116:360–369. doi: 10.1071/MU15101

[18] Morgenthaler A, Millones A, Gandini P, Procopio D, Frere E (2025) Sympatric seabirds: exploring multidimensional niche partitioning among four cormorant species. Marine Ecology Progress Series 752:169–186. doi: 10.3354/meps14751

[19] Potier S, Carpentier A, Grémillet D, Leroy B, Lescroël A (2015) Individual repeatability of foraging behaviour in a marine predator, the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo. Animal Behaviour 103:83–90. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.02.008

[20] R Core Team (2024) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing

[21] Ryan PG, Pichegru L, Ropert-Coudert Y, Grémillet D, Kato A (2010) On a wing and a prayer: the foraging ecology of breeding Cape cormorants. Journal of Zoology 280:25–32. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00637.x

[22] SERFOR (2018) Libro Rojo de la Fauna Silvestre Amenazada del Perú, Primera edición. SERFOR (Servicio Nacional Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre), Lima, Perú

[23] Vilina YA, Gonzalez JL (1995) Observations of breeding red-legged cormorants Phalacrocorax gaimardi in the north of Chile. Marine Ornithology 22:247–250

[24] Weimerskirch H, Bertrand S, Silva J, Bost C, Peraltilla S (2012) Foraging in Guanay cormorant and Peruvian booby, the major guano-producing seabirds in the Humboldt Current System. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 458:231–245. doi: 10.3354/meps09752

[25] Zavalaga CB, Frere E, Gandini P (2002) Status of the Red-Legged Cormorant in Peru: What Factors Affect Distribution and Numbers? Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology 25:8–15

[26] Zavalaga CB, Paredes R (1999) Foraging behaviour and diet of the guanay cormorant. South African Journal of Marine Science 21:251–258. doi: 10.2989/025776199784125980