Identifying key marine habitat sites for seabirds and sea ducks in the Canadian Arctic

Abstract

The Canadian Arctic hosts millions of marine birds annually, many of which aggregate in large numbers at well-defined sites at predictable times of the year. Marine habitats in this region will be under increasing threats from anthropogenic activities, largely facilitated by climate change and long-term trends of reduced sea ice extent and thickness. In this review, we update previous efforts to delineate the most important habitats for marine birds in Arctic Canada, using the most current population estimates for Canada, as well as recent information from shipboard surveys and telemetry studies. We identify 349 160 km2 of key habitat, more than doubling earlier suggestions for key habitat extent. As of 2018, 1% of these habitats fall within the boundaries of legislated protected areas. New marine conservation areas currently being finalized in the Canadian Arctic will only increase the proportion protected to 13%.

ToxChip PCR Arrays for Two Arctic-Breeding Seabirds: Applications for Regional Environmental Assessments

“…The low variability was not surprising given that all murre individuals were collected from the same breeding colony, although some variability (evident based on several outliers on the PCA) might be explained by the highly variable and extensive (i.e., up to approximately 200 km) feeding/migration ranges of this species. 27 3.1.2. Black Guillemot.…”

“…Each ToxChip measures the expression of 31 target genes previously shown to be responsive to various environmental chemicals, including oil-related compounds, in birds. 24−26 Murres are offshore pelagic feeding species that feed approximately 60−100 km (up to a maximum of approximately 200 km) from their breeding locations 27 and have a typical annual migration distance of over 2000 km from breeding colonies. 28,29 Guillemots are coastal feeding species with a relatively small foraging range around their colonies (on average 5, maximum of 10 km) and annually have a shorter migration distance in relation to murres as they congregate to feed along the sea ice edge in the BBDS region (typically 500− 1000 km range).…”

Arctic seabirds and shrinking sea ice: egg analyses reveal the importance of ice-derived resources

“…Thick-billed murres are pursuit-divers, diving down to 200 m depth to feed mainly on fish, especially the ice-associated Arctic cod ( Boreogadus saida , Lepechin), and macrozooplankton 47 . Their feeding range is much shorter than the fulmar’s and typically restricted to approximately 150 km from their colony 59,60 . Murres are often observed near ice edges 61 where they can easily dive under sea ice to forage on sympagic prey.…”

Long-term Declines in the Size of Northern Fulmar (<i>Fulmarus glacialis</i>) Colonies on Eastern Baffin Island, Canada

“…The Canadian Arctic supports millions of breeding seabirds annually (Gaston et al, 2012); most birds are found principally near a few, typically large colonies during the summer months (Mallory et al, 2019). As upper trophic level predators, seabirds are an important component of Arctic marine ecosystems and have been used as key biomonitors of the health of the Arctic marine environment (Gaston et al, 2005;Mallory and Braune, 2012).…”