Hullo Arron.
Pelagic seabirds feed on plankton (krill and other small
crustaceans), fish ,and squid plus any offal thrown overboard from fishing
boats.
Krill live on Phytoplankton, ie microscopic plants, which
themselves live on nutrients that come up from the depths beyond the edge of
the Continental Shelf, brought up from the bottom by deep currents where
those currents collide with continents or with each other, particularly in
circumpolar regions.Phytonplankton need light like other plants, and occur
in the upper part of the oceans. Phytoplankton is the beginning of the
food-chain. Small fish live on krill, large fish live on small fish.
Onshore winds blow the surface waters and the food it
contains inshore, the more prolonged the wind, the more those food-rich
upper layers are blown in.The birds follow the food supply in.
Cheers
Michael
Arron Davies asked;
Pelagic bird question
> Could someone please answer this easy newbie question
> which has nonetheless puzzled me for a couple of
> years. Why is it that pelagic seabirds are observed
> close inshore only when strong winds blow onshore ? Is
> it because of turnover ?
>
> What are they eating anyway ?
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