Nesting common eiders (Somateria mollissima) show little behavioral response to fixed-wing drone surveys

Drones may be valuable in polar research because they can minimize researcher activity and overcome logistic, financial, and safety obstacles associated with wildlife research in Polar Regions. Because Polar species may be particularly sensitive to disturbance and some research suggests behavioral responses to drones are species-specific, there is a need for focal species-specific disturbance assessments. We evaluated behavioral responses of nesting Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima, n =19 incubating females) to first, second, or in a few cases third exposure of fixed-wing drone surveys using nest cameras. We found no effect of drone flights (F1,23 = 0, P < 1.0) or previous exposures (F1,23 = 0.75, P = 0.397) on the probability of a daily recess event (bird leaves nests). Drone flights did not impact recess length (F1,25 = 1.34, P = 0.26); however, eiders with prior drone exposure took longer recess events (F1,25 = 5.27, P = 0.03). We did not observe any overhead vigilance behaviors common in other species while the drone was in the air, which may reflect eider’s anti-predator strategies of reducing activity at nests in response to aerial predators. Surveying nesting common eider colonies with a fixed-wing drone did not result in biologically meaningful behavioral changes, providing a potential tool for research and monitoring this Polar nesting species.

Download Full-text

Reactions of ground-nesting marine birds to human disturbance in the Canadian Arctic

Arctic Science ◽

10.1139/as-2015-0029 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 67-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mark L. Mallory

Keyword(s):

Bird Species ◽

Buffer Zone ◽

High Arctic ◽

Somateria Mollissima ◽

Avian Flight ◽

Common Eiders ◽

Specific Variation ◽

Species Specific ◽

Clangula Hyemalis ◽

Ground Nesting

I studied the reactions of five ground-nesting marine bird species (Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea), Sabine’s gull (Xema sabini), common eider (Somateria mollissima), long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis), and Ross’ gull (Rhodostethia rosea)) breeding in the low and high Arctic to disturbance from nearby aircraft as well as avian flight initiation response to humans approaching on foot. All species except nesting long-tailed ducks and common eiders departed their nest when overhead aircraft were within 200 m, with loafing birds often flying off when aircraft were still 1 km away. There was considerable individual and species-specific variation in responses to approaching humans, with some nesting birds not flushing from their nest until touched by a researcher (e.g., waterfowl, 0 m), while others flushed when people were 400 m away (Ross’s gull). Excluding Ross’s gulls, 95% of the individuals of most species did not initiate flight until humans were ≤100 m from the nest, suggesting that this might represent a minimum, suitable “buffer zone” around nesting colonies for nonmotorized human activities.

Download Full-text

Herd immunity drives the epidemic fadeout of avian cholera in Arctic-nesting seabirds

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-79888-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jacintha G. B. van Dijk ◽

Samuel A. Iverson ◽

H. Grant Gilchrist ◽

N. Jane Harms ◽

Holly L. Hennin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colony Size ◽

Pasteurella Multocida ◽

Herd Immunity ◽

Reproductive Number ◽

Somateria Mollissima ◽

Common Eiders ◽

Serological Status ◽

Antibody Titers ◽

Avian Cholera

AbstractAvian cholera, caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, is a common and important infectious disease of wild birds in North America. Between 2005 and 2012, avian cholera caused annual mortality of widely varying magnitudes in Northern common eiders (Somateria mollissima borealis) breeding at the largest colony in the Canadian Arctic, Mitivik Island, Nunavut. Although herd immunity, in which a large proportion of the population acquires immunity to the disease, has been suggested to play a role in epidemic fadeout, immunological studies exploring this hypothesis have been missing. We investigated the role of three potential drivers of fadeout of avian cholera in eiders, including immunity, prevalence of infection, and colony size. Each potential driver was examined in relation to the annual real-time reproductive number (Rt) of P. multocida, previously calculated for eiders at Mitivik Island. Each year, colony size was estimated and eiders were closely monitored, and evaluated for infection and serological status. We demonstrate that acquired immunity approximated using antibody titers to P. multocida in both sexes was likely a key driver for the epidemic fadeout. This study exemplifies the importance of herd immunity in influencing the dynamics and fadeout of epidemics in a wildlife population.

Download Full-text

Body and organ mass dynamics during remigial moult in a wing–foot-propelled diving sea duck: the Common Eider (Atlantic) (Somateria mollissima dresseri)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2015-0062 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 93 (10) ◽

pp. 755-764 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

A. Viain ◽

M. Guillemette ◽

J.-P.L. Savard

Keyword(s):

Muscle Mass ◽

Body Mass ◽

Flight Muscle ◽

Somateria Mollissima ◽

Dabbling Ducks ◽

Diving Ducks ◽

Common Eiders ◽

Sea Duck ◽

Remigial Moult ◽

Atrophy Of The Heart

Body and organ dynamics, during remigial moult, have been mainly explored on geese, dabbling ducks, and foot-propelled diving ducks, but weakly on sea ducks. This study investigated the internal changes in a wing–foot-propelled sea duck to determine the adaptive strategies implemented. Forty-five male Common Eiders (Atlantic) (Somateria mollissima dresseri Sharpe, 1871), collected in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were dissected; their body mass, muscle mass, and organ sizes were measured. We tested three hypotheses: (1) S. m. dresseri use a strategic reduction of body mass to reduce the flightlessness duration; (2) organs will exhibit changes consistent with a trade-off between function and maintenance to save and reallocate energy and proteins to feather growth; (3) S. m. dresseri would show lower flight muscle reduction than foot-propelled diving ducks. Somateria mollissima dresseri did not lose body mass, which does not support the first hypothesis. Atrophy of the heart followed by hypertrophy and opposite changes in leg muscle mass and gizzard mass are consistent with the second hypothesis. Flight muscle mass showed lower variations than in other ducks, validating the third hypothesis. We also suggest that the lipid depletion observed early in the moult could be a strategy to reduce foraging effort and minimize the risk of damaging the growing feathers.

Download Full-text

Seroprevalence of avian influenza in Baltic common eiders (Somateria mollissima) and pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus)

Environment International ◽

10.1016/j.envint.2020.105873 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 142 ◽

pp. 105873 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Su Shiung Lam ◽

Rune Skjold Tjørnløv ◽

Ole Roland Therkildsen ◽

Thomas Kjær Christensen ◽

Jesper Madsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Avian Influenza ◽

Somateria Mollissima ◽

Anser Brachyrhynchus ◽

Common Eiders

Download Full-text

Common Eider (Somateria Mollissima) Body Condition and Parasitic Load during a Mortality Event in the Baltic Proper

Avian Biology Research ◽

10.3184/175815618x15263798903780 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 167-172 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Svend-Erik Garbus ◽

Peter Lyngs ◽

Jens Peter Christensen ◽

Kurt Buchmann ◽

Igor Eulaers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

High Mortality ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

Somateria Mollissima ◽

Common Eiders ◽

Baltic Proper ◽

Average Body Mass ◽

The Baltic ◽

Average Body

During late spring of 2007 and 2015, we observed unusually high mortality of Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) on Christiansø in the Baltic Proper. The number of dead birds (2007: 125; 2015: 110) composed 5–10% of the total colony. In 2015, we collected 15 (12 adult females, three subadult males) of the 110 recently deceased Common Eiders for detailed autopsy. The average body mass of the females was 1,040 g (920–1,160 g) which is ca 60% lower than what can be expected of healthy females during wintertime. Similarly, for the subadult males the average body mass of 1,203 g (1,070–1,300 g) comprised only 45% of what can be expected for healthy subadult males during winter. All 15 birds were thus severely emaciated and cachexic with general atrophy of muscles and internal organs. Hunger oedema, distended gall bladder, empty stomach, empty and dilated intestines and dilated cardiomyopathy were observed as well. In addition, all 15 Common Eiders were infected with high loads of the acanthocephalan parasite Polymorphus minutus. No gross morphological changes suggested toxicological, bacteriological or viral causes to the mortality. Taken together, our autopsy suggested starvation leading to secondary metabolic catabolism and eventually congestive heart failure. Five birds that were examined in 2007 showed the same symptoms. We suspect that the introduction of suboptimal feeding conditions in combination with a high parasite load over the last decade synergistically caused high physiological stress leading to population level effects manifested as high mortality.

Download Full-text

Body mass, mercury exposure, biochemistry and untargeted metabolomics of incubating common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in three Baltic colonies

Environment International ◽

10.1016/j.envint.2020.105866 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 142 ◽

pp. 105866 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nyuk Ling Ma ◽

Martin Hansen ◽

Ole Roland Therkildsen ◽

Thomas Kjær Christensen ◽

Rune Skjold Tjørnløv ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Mercury Exposure ◽

Untargeted Metabolomics ◽

Somateria Mollissima ◽

Common Eiders

Download Full-text

46 Species-specificity in metmyoglobin reduction

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skz053.191 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 97 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 83-84

Author(s):

Emily Bechtold ◽

Surendranath Suman ◽

Smita Mohanty ◽

Suman Mazumder ◽

Sadagopan Krishnan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reduction Potential ◽

Species Specificity ◽

Oxidation Reduction ◽

Oxidation Reduction Potential ◽

Sarcoplasmic Protein ◽

Reducing Activity ◽

Mechanistic Basis ◽

Species Specific ◽

Reducing Properties

Abstract Myoglobin is the primary sarcoplasmic protein responsible for meat color. Previous research has reported that myoglobin oxidation is species-specific. Metmyoglobin reducing activity is an inherent property to limit myoglobin oxidation. However, limited research has determined species specificity in metmyoglobin reducing properties. The objective of current study was to compare metmyoglobin reducing properties of eight different species such as beef, porcine, bison, deer, emu, equine, goat, and sheep in vitro. Myoglobin was isolated from eight different species via ammonium sulfate precipitation. The pH of the myoglobin was adjusted by passing through a column pre-calibrated with 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 5.6. All species myoglobin were converted to metmyoglobin, and the metmyoglobin reduction was determined by two different approaches, non-enzymatic metmyoglobin reducing activity (NMRA) and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP). In the first method, NADH (electron donor), EDTA, and methylene blue (electron carrier), were added in a cuvette and increase in absorbance at 582 nm was monitored using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. In the second method, the ability of the heme to get reduced was determined using an RedoxSys analyzer, in which electron was directly transferred to heme. The NMRA and ORP experiments were replicated five times. The data were analyzed using the Mixed Procedure of SAS, with species as the fixed effect. There were species-specific differences (P < 0.05) in NMRA and ORP. Bovine myoglobin had the greatest (P < 0.05) NMRA compared with sheep, equine, goat, deer, bison, pork, and emu. There were no differences (P > 0.05) in NMRA among equine, goat, deer, bison, pork, and emu. ORP studies indicated that beef and porcine myoglobins had the greatest ability to get reduced (P < 0.05) compared with other species. Hence, use of different techniques and approaches will help to elucidate the mechanistic basis of metmyoglobin reduction.

Download Full-text

Annual variation in common eider egg size: effects of temperature, clutch size, laying date, and laying sequence

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z95-188 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 73 (9) ◽

pp. 1579-1587 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Gregory J. Robertson

Keyword(s):

Clutch Size ◽

Egg Size ◽

Annual Variation ◽

Size Variation ◽

Egg Laying ◽

Laying Date ◽

Somateria Mollissima ◽

Ambient Temperatures ◽

Common Eiders ◽

N 93

Annual variation in volumes of eggs laid by common eiders (Somateria mollissima sedentaria) nesting at La Pérouse Bay, Manitoba (58°43′N, 93°27′W), was studied over 3 years (1991–1993). Temperatures during the egg-laying period were higher in 1991 than in 1992 and 1993. However, the eiders began nesting in 1993 at the same time as in 1991, whereas in 1992 the eiders began laying approximately 2 weeks later. Eiders laid significantly smaller clutches in 1992 than in the other 2 years. Egg size did not correlate with clutch size or laying date in any year. However, eiders laid smaller eggs in 1992 and 1993 than in 1991. In five egg clutches, the pattern of intraclutch egg-size variation was different among years. The last laid eggs of five egg clutches were disproportionately smaller in 1992 and 1993 (cold years) than those laid in 1991. Minimum daily temperatures before the egg-laying period (during rapid yolk development) were positively correlated with egg size. However, this effect was not significant when year and egg sequence were controlled for. Egg-size variation was correlated with the overall ambient temperatures during the laying period, whereas annual clutch-size variation was correlated with laying date, suggesting that the proximate mechanisms affecting clutch and egg size are different.

Download Full-text