Central Pacific Seabirds and the El Niño Southern Oscillation: 1982 to 1983 Perspectives

Abstract

The breeding chronology and reproductive attempts of the seabird community on Christmas Island in the central Pacific Ocean (2 degrees N, 157 degrees W) were interrupted by the 1982-1983 El Niño Southern Oscillation. The resultant reproductive failure and disappearance of the entire seabird community of this equatorial atoll represents the most dramatic interruption on record of a seabird community located distant from coastal upwelling. Our data indicate the effect that the abiotic and biotic aspects of a global atmospheric-oceanic anomaly have on marine birds. The 1982-1983 El Niño Southern Oscillation provides an example of selective pressures and a natural experiment in the study of vertebrate population dynamics.