Representation of the Pacific Arctic seabird community within the Distributed Biological Observatory array, 2007–2015

Kuletz, Kathy J.; Cushing, Daniel A.; Osnas, Erik E.; Labunski, Elizabeth A.; Gall, Adrian E.

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.04.001

Cited by 11 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Will, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, personal communication, 2018). Only low numbers of crested and least auklets from the NBS used the Chukchi Sea in late summer (K. Kuletz, unpublished data, 2018), where they had been abundant in offshore waters previously (Kuletz et al, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of the Northern Bering Sea and Southeastern Bering Sea Pelagic Ecosystems Following Record‐Breaking Low Winter Sea Ice

Duffy‐Anderson

Stabeno

Andrews

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

105

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Bering Sea sea ice during winter 2017–2018 was the lowest ever recorded. Ecosystem effects of low ice have been observed in the southeastern Bering Sea, but never in the northern Bering Sea. Observations in both systems included weakened water column stratification, delayed spring bloom, and low abundances of large crustacean zooplankton. Summer Cold Pool presence was extremely limited. Young walleye pollock production and condition were similar to prior warm years, though catches of other pelagic forage fishes were low. Summer seabird die‐offs were observed in the northern Bering Sea, and to lesser extent in the southeastern Bering Sea, and reproductive success was poor at monitored colonies. Selected bottom‐up responses to lack of sea ice in the north were similar to those in the south, potentially providing environmental indicators to project ecosystem effects in a lesser studied system. Results offer a potential glimpse of the broader Bering Sea pelagic ecosystem under future low‐ice projections.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of the Northern Bering Sea and Southeastern Bering Sea Pelagic Ecosystems Following Record‐Breaking Low Winter Sea Ice

Duffy‐Anderson

Stabeno

Andrews

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

105

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“…Migrating to coastal and shelf waters in the northern Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea during late summer or autumn is not unusual for Kittlitz's Murrelets and other members of Alcidae, including Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia), Ancient Murrelets (Synthliboramphus antiquus), and Crested Auklets (Aethia cristatella) Gaston et al, 2017;Schacter, 2017). However, murrelet abundance (including Ancient and Kittlitz's Murrelets combined) also showed greater interannual variance than spatial variance in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas (Kuletz et al, 2019), which indicates that migration timing or the numbers actually migrating may be more variable than migration routes among years. It appears that many seabirds move into the region during late summer and autumn to take advantage of high primary and secondary production transported north through Bering Strait by the Anadyr Current (Hunt, 1991;Piatt and Springer, 2007;, which enhance local forage fish stocks late in the season (Eisner et al, 2013).…”

Section: Migratory Routesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Kittlitz’s Murrelet Seasonal Distribution and Post-breeding Migration from the Gulf of Alaska to the Arctic Ocean

Piatt¹,

Douglas²,

Arimitsu³

et al. 2022

ARCTIC

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Kittlitz’s Murrelets (Brachyramphus brevirostris) nest during summer in glaciated or recently deglaciated (post-Wisconsin) landscapes. They forage in adjacent marine waters, especially those influenced by glacial meltwater. Little is known of their movements and distribution outside the breeding season. To identify post-breeding migrations of murrelets, we attached satellite transmitters to birds (n = 47) captured at sea in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands during May – July 2009 – 15 and tracked 27 birds that migrated from capture areas. Post-breeding murrelets migrated toward the Bering Sea, with short periods of movement (median 2 d) separated by short stopovers (median 1 d). Travel speeds averaged 79.4 km d-1 (83.5 SD, 449.1 maximum). Five Kittlitz’s Murrelets tagged in Prince William Sound in May migrated to the Bering Sea by August and four continued north to the Arctic Ocean, logging 2500 – 4000 km of travel. Many birds spent 2‒3 weeks with little movement along coasts of the Alaska Peninsula or eastern Bering Sea during late August through September, also the pre-basic molt period. Ship-based surveys, many of which were conducted concurrently with our telemetry studies, confirmed that substantial numbers of Kittlitz’s Murrelets migrate into the Arctic Ocean during autumn. They also revealed that some birds spend winter and spring in the Bering Sea in association with ice-edge, polynya, or marginal ice zone habitats before returning to summer breeding grounds. We conclude that this species is best characterized as a sub-Arctic and Arctic species, which has implications for future risk assessments and threat mitigation.

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“…Total seabird abundance of both sea surface feeding bird species (kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla, short-tailed shearwaters Ardenna tenuirostris and Arctic terns Sterna paradisaea) and diving species (thick-billed murre Uria lomvia, horned puffin Fratercula corniculata and auklets Aethia spp.) peaked at the mouth of Barrow Canyon and the adjacent upper slope of the Beaufort Sea (Kuletz et al, 2015(Kuletz et al, , 2019Moore and Kuletz, 2019). We pose that for some of these seabird species (e.g., the little auk) the shelf break might be potentially more important than sea ice distribution.…”

Section: Higher Trophic Level Biomass and Distributionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The Pan-Arctic Continental Slope: Sharp Gradients of Physical Processes Affect Pelagic and Benthic Ecosystems

et al. 2020

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Continental slopes – steep regions between the shelf break and abyssal ocean – play key roles in the climatology and ecology of the Arctic Ocean. Here, through review and synthesis, we find that the narrow slope regions contribute to ecosystem functioning disproportionately to the size of the habitat area (∼6% of total Arctic Ocean area). Driven by inflows of sub-Arctic waters and steered by topography, boundary currents transport boreal properties and particle loads from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans along-slope, thus creating both along and cross-slope connectivity gradients in water mass properties and biomass. Drainage of dense, saline shelf water and material within these, and contributions of river and meltwater also shape the characteristics of the slope domain. These and other properties led us to distinguish upper and lower slope domains; the upper slope (shelf break to ∼800 m) is characterized by stronger currents, warmer sub-surface temperatures, and higher biomass across several trophic levels (especially near inflow areas). In contrast, the lower slope has slower-moving currents, is cooler, and exhibits lower vertical carbon flux and biomass. Distinct zonation of zooplankton, benthic and fish communities result from these differences. Slopes display varying levels of system connectivity: (1) along-slope through property and material transport in boundary currents, (2) cross-slope through upwelling of warm and nutrient rich water and down-welling of dense water and organic rich matter, and (3) vertically through shear and mixing. Slope dynamics also generate separating functions through (1) along-slope and across-slope fronts concentrating biological activity, and (2) vertical gradients in the water column and at the seafloor that maintain distinct physical structure and community turnover. At the upper slope, climatic change is manifested in sea-ice retreat, increased heat and mass transport by sub-Arctic inflows, surface warming, and altered vertical stratification, while the lower slope has yet to display evidence of change. Model projections suggest that ongoing physical changes will enhance primary production at the upper slope, with suspected enhancing effects for consumers. We recommend Pan-Arctic monitoring efforts of slopes given that many signals of climate change appear there first and are then transmitted along the slope domain.

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Representation of the Pacific Arctic seabird community within the Distributed Biological Observatory array, 2007–2015

Cited by 11 publications

References 65 publications

Responses of the Northern Bering Sea and Southeastern Bering Sea Pelagic Ecosystems Following Record‐Breaking Low Winter Sea Ice

Responses of the Northern Bering Sea and Southeastern Bering Sea Pelagic Ecosystems Following Record‐Breaking Low Winter Sea Ice

Kittlitz’s Murrelet Seasonal Distribution and Post-breeding Migration from the Gulf of Alaska to the Arctic Ocean

The Pan-Arctic Continental Slope: Sharp Gradients of Physical Processes Affect Pelagic and Benthic Ecosystems

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