Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Griffiths A.M. (1983) Factors affecting the distribution of the Snow Petrel Pagadroma nivea and the Antarctic Petrel Thalassoica antarctica. ARDEA 71 (1): 145-150
The restriction of Snow and Antarctic Petrels to areas of sea-ice, and the concomitant exclusion of albatrosses and other petrels were investigated. Oceanographic and meteorological parameters are correlated poorly with Snow and Antarctic Petrel abundances. Air and surface-water temperatures influence the distribution of sea-ice, rather than the birds directly. The diet of the two species is unspecialized, and feeding is opportunistic. Snow and Antarctic Petrels are non-specialized flyers. Their aerodynamic characteristics restrict them to the inconsistent meteorological regime of the Antarctic. The paucity of open water for feeding, unpredictable winds, and the distance to breeding localities exclude most other procellariiform seabirds from the area studied.


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