Evaluating High Resolution Offshore Movements of Marine Birds: Will Common Terns (sterna Hirundo) Act As a Surrogate Species for the Sympatric Endangered Roseate Tern (sterna Dougallii)?

The projected growth in offshore wind installations in the northwest Atlantic Ocean is a major issue for conservation biologists interested in marine birds that breed in the region. Biologists often utilize foraging ranges of breeding individuals from their colony to estimate potential conflicts with offshore wind installations. Recent advances in GPS transmitter technology allow biologists to collect high resolution data for moderately-sized (< 200 g) marine birds throughout their breeding and post-breeding stages to quantify movement dynamics. We investigated whether tracking an abundant, generalist species, Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) would be representative of movements of a sympatric endangered specialist, Roseate Tern (Sterna dougalli). From June - September in 2024 and 2025, we used solar-powered GPS transmitters to track breeding and post-breeding movements of adult Common and Roseate Terns nesting on Great Gull Island, New York. We documented high similarity (40–70