Non-breeding areas of three sympatric auk species breeding in three Icelandic colonies

Linnebjerg, Jannie Fries; Frederiksen, Morten; Kolbeinsson, Yann; Snæþórsson, Aðalsteinn Örn; Þórisson, Böðvar; Þórarinsson, Þorkell Lindberg

doi:10.1007/s00300-018-2334-1

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Our results also highlight spatial differences in seabird Hg contamination during the non-breeding period, as reflected by HF measurements. Mean Hg concentrations were higher in seabird populations breeding in the Northwest Atlantic, which are likely overwintering in the Labrador Sea (Linnebjerg et al, 2018;McFarlane Tranquilla et al, 2014), compared to the Northeast Atlantic seabirds, overwintering farther east (Fort et al, 2013a). Such results are concurring with the higher Hg concentrations reported earlier in little auks overwintering off Newfoundland (Fort et al 2014) and suggest a Hg hotspot in the Labrador Sea.…”

Section: Seasonal and Spatial Differencessupporting

confidence: 83%

Seasonal variation of mercury contamination in Arctic seabirds: A pan-Arctic assessment

Albert

Helgason

Brault‐Favrou

et al. 2021

Science of The Total Environment

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Mercury (Hg) is a natural trace element found in high concentrations in top predators, including Arctic seabirds. Most current knowledge about Hg concentrations in Arctic seabirds relates to exposure during the summer breeding period when researchers can easily access seabirds at colonies. However, the few studies focused on winter have shown higher Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period than breeding period in several tissues. Hence, improving knowledge about Hg exposure during the non-breeding period is crucial to understanding the threats and risks encountered by these species year-round. We used feathers of nine migratory alcid species occurring at high latitudes to study bird Hg exposure during both the breeding and non-breeding periods. Overall, Hg concentrations during the nonbreeding period were ~3 times higher than during the breeding period. In addition, spatial differences were apparent within and between the Atlantic and Pacific regions. While Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period were ~9 times and ~3 times higher than during the breeding period for the West and East Atlantic respectively, Hg concentrations in the Pacific during the non-breeding period were only ~1.7 times higher than during the breeding period. In addition, individual Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period for most of the seabird colonies were above 5.00 µg g-1 dry weight (dw), which is considered to be the threshold at which deleterious effects are observed, suggesting that some breeding populations might be vulnerable to non-breeding Hg exposure. Since wintering area locations, and migration routes may influence seasonal Hg concentrations, it is crucial to improve our knowledge about spatial ecotoxicology to fully understand the risks associated with Hg contamination in Arctic seabirds.

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Section: Seasonal and Spatial Differencessupporting

confidence: 83%

Seasonal variation of mercury contamination in Arctic seabirds: A pan-Arctic assessment

Albert

Helgason

Brault‐Favrou

et al. 2021

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Nevertheless, the overall patterns accord well with all other information on guillemot winter distribution (e.g., ring recoveries; Bakken et al 2003;Lyngs 2003;Gaston & Robertson 2014), and we are confident that our main conclusions regarding impacts on specific breeding populations are robust. New tracking data not included here indicate that guillemots from Jan Mayen winter off south-west Greenland and north of Iceland (SEAPOP 2018), and that a few Icelandic birds winter on the Newfoundland Shelf (Linnebjerg et al 2018); including this information in the model would slightly change the predicted impacts of anthropogenic mortality. Further work using biological markers and next-generation DNA sequencing is underway to directly assign harvested birds to source colonies and corroborate harvest derivations based on the tracking data.…”

Section: Model Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the relative impact of hunting and oiling on Brünnich’s guillemots in the North-west Atlantic

et al. 2019

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Brünnich's guillemot (Uria lomvia), or thick-billed murre, is an abundant pan-Arctic seabird, but several Atlantic breeding populations are declining. The species is subject to traditional harvest in the important wintering areas off west Greenland and Newfoundland, and has been subject to chronic oil pollution on the east coast of Canada. Until recently, knowledge of winter distribution has been insufficient to assess the impact of these mortality sources on specific breeding populations. We collate existing information on mortality from bag statistics in Greenland and Canada and studies of oiling off Newfoundland, as well as new data on age distribution in the harvest. Based on the results of recent tracking studies, we construct a spatially explicit population model that allocates hunting and oiling mortality to breeding populations and estimates the relative impact on their growth rate. Results indicate that annual population growth rate is depressed by 0.011-0.041 (approximately 1%-4%) by anthropogenic mortality sources. In addition to affecting local breeders, hunting in Greenland mainly affects declining breeding populations in Svalbard and Iceland, while hunting and oiling in Newfoundland mainly affect guillemots breeding in Arctic Canada and northwest Greenland, where most populations are relatively stable. The strongest relative impact is predicted on the small breeding population in Atlantic Canada, which winters mainly on the Newfoundland Shelf and therefore is exposed to both hunting and oiling. Our results clarify the relationships between hunting in Greenland and Canada and growth of specific breeding populations, and thus have major implications for harvest management of guillemots.

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“…Our results corroborate this finding by showing that even little auks from the Franz Josef Land population utilize this area. The number of birds from Svalbard and Russia wintering there was highest in spend the winter in this region as well, such as Brünnich's guillemots Uria lomvia from Bjørnøya (Frederiksen et al 2016) and other alcid species breeding in Iceland (Linnebjerg et al 2018). The Iceland Sea can therefore be considered as a hotspot for wintering Arctic seabirds, with hotspot defined as "an area where high abundances of species overlap in space and time" (Davoren 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Sharing wintering grounds does not synchronize annual survival in a high Arctic seabird, the little auk

Descamps

Merkel

Strøm

et al. 2021

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Sharing the same wintering grounds by avian populations breeding in various areas may synchronize fluctuations in vital rates, which could increase the risk of extinction. Here, by combining multi-colony tracking with long-term capture-recapture data, we studied the winter distribution and annual survival of the most numerous Arctic seabird, the little auk Alle alle. We assessed whether little auks from different breeding populations in Svalbard and Franz Josef Land use the same wintering grounds and if this leads to synchronized survival. Our results indicate that birds from the Svalbard colonies shared similar wintering grounds, although differences existed in the proportion of birds from each colony using the different areas. Little auks from Franz Josef Land generally spent the winter in a separate area, but some individuals wintered in the Iceland Sea with Svalbard populations. Survival data from 3 Svalbard colonies collected in 2005-2018 indicated that sharing wintering grounds did not synchronize little auk annual survival rates. However, it is clear that the Iceland Sea is an important wintering area for little auks, and environmental changes in this area could have widespread impacts on many populations.

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Non-breeding areas of three sympatric auk species breeding in three Icelandic colonies

Cited by 15 publications

References 32 publications

Seasonal variation of mercury contamination in Arctic seabirds: A pan-Arctic assessment

Seasonal variation of mercury contamination in Arctic seabirds: A pan-Arctic assessment

Quantifying the relative impact of hunting and oiling on Brünnich’s guillemots in the North-west Atlantic

Sharing wintering grounds does not synchronize annual survival in a high Arctic seabird, the little auk

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