Rafting behaviour of northern gannets

What is it about?

Many seabirds gather in rafts at sea to rest, preen and display. However there has also been some suggestion that this behaviour may be related to information sharing regarding foraging resources. Furthermore, use of waters adjacent to the colony is not conventionally considered in conservation management. Here we show that most gannets use the waters surrounding the colony for rafting.

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Why is it important?

Our results show that rafting is important for breeding gannets on Grassholm, and a recently designated at-sea Special Protection Area encapsulates the core distribution of rafting.