Research Information System
Sakarya University Journal of Science SAUJS, vol.26, no.2, pp.365-374, 2022 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
We aimed to make censuses of Puffinus yelkouan at the Dardanelles and to evaluate the
movements at the Aegean and the Marmara Sea during the early breeding period. Field studies
were carried out in the morning and afternoon for 40 days between 6 February and 22 March
2019. In the censuses, the highest number of birds, passing in both directions in a day was
78145 individuals; 56451 of them were counted in the direction of the Aegean Sea on 17
February, which is the highest number counted in one direction in a day. As a result, the number
of birds crossing to the Aegean Sea through the Dardanelles in the afternoon is significantly
higher than the number of birds crossing to the Aegean Sea in the morning. In the afternoon,
the number of birds flying towards the Aegean Sea is significantly higher than the number of
birds flying towards the Marmara Sea. Considering that the species visits the breeding colonies
at night, this movement pattern could be related to the fact that the shearwater breeding
population is predominantly found in the Aegean or in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, some
issues, such as how long the birds stay in these sea regions after flying to the Aegean Sea or the
Marmara Sea, which route they follow or how the flocks mix require further investigation.