Climatological Effects on the Breeding of Terns

The physical circulation in the Western Indian Ocean controls the supply of nutrients, and this, combined with the stability of the surface layer and the availability of sunlight controls the primary production. In this note, we review two papers' findings on how the physical conditions ultimately impact upon the breeding of terns, a marinetop predator in the region. Rather than trace causal links through the food chain, we show empirical connections between avian breeding and the environmental conditions, all of which appear statistically significant.