Relationship between Little Auk-Driven Soil Fertilization and Concentration of Different Forms of Phosphorus in Soil and Tundra Vegetation in Spitsbergen (Svalbard, High Arctic)

Many animal species exhibit a diel, 24-hr pattern of activity, which is steered by timing cues, with the daily light–dark cycle considered the most powerful. This cue, however, is reduced in polar zones under continuous daylight conditions associated with the midnight sun. The rhythm of animal behaviour under such conditions is poorly understood. Here, we examine periodicity and patterns of daily activity (colony attendance and foraging) in a High-Arctic seabird, the little auk (Alle alle). We demonstrated a regular rhythm of colony attendance at the population level, with birds being the most abundant in the colony during hours of relatively low sun elevation. This pattern is likely to be associated with predation pressure that may be perceived by birds as lower during hours with low sun elevation, because of better predator detectability. Regarding rhythms at an individual level, however, we found the most common periodicity to be 23.2 hr (range from 19.9 hr to 30.8 hr) but no clear pattern of daily colony attendance of individuals. Such a flexibility in daily rhythms indicates that individuals may become arrhythmic in regard to the 24-hr environmental cycle, despite regularities observed at the population level. Finally, we compared males and females in terms of daily activity patterns but we did not find significant sex differences.

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Can stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) measurements of little auk (Alle alle) adults and chicks be used to track changes in high-Arctic marine foodwebs?

Polar Biology ◽

10.1007/s00300-008-0413-4 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 31 (6) ◽

pp. 725-733 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Ann M. A. Harding ◽

Keith A. Hobson ◽

Wojciech Walkusz ◽

Kasia Dmoch ◽

Nina J. Karnovsky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

High Arctic ◽

Little Auk ◽

Δ13c And Δ15n ◽

Alle Alle

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Preliminary investigations on the texture of high arctic tundra vegetation

Vegetation between land and sea ◽

10.1007/978-94-009-4065-9_10 ◽

1987 ◽

pp. 120-133 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

J. J. Barkman

Keyword(s):

Arctic Tundra ◽

High Arctic ◽

Tundra Vegetation

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Consequences of experimental clutch enlargement in a High Arctic single-egg layer, the Little Auk (Alle alle)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2014-0027 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 92 (8) ◽

pp. 681-687 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

D. Jakubas ◽

K. Wojczulanis-Jakubas

Keyword(s):

Clutch Size ◽

Egg Production ◽

Hatching Success ◽

High Arctic ◽

Little Auk ◽

Prolonged Incubation ◽

Alle Alle ◽

Parental Fitness ◽

Rearing Conditions ◽

Similar Body

Initial reproductive investments in birds are energy-demanding. Amount of energy allocated to egg production and incubation may have an important role in determining parental fitness and evolution of clutch size. Here, we investigated whether the Little Auk (Alle alle (L., 1758)), a small alcid with one-egg clutch but two brood patches (probably remnant of the original two-egg clutch), is capable of incubating two eggs and rearing two chicks. We performed an experiment with removing the egg from 20 nests and transferring it to 20 experimental nests (EN). In 25% of EN, both eggs failed to hatch; in 75% of EN, only one egg hatched successfully. Hatching success in EN was 2.5 times lower than in control nests (CN). In EN, chicks hatched only from eggs warmed during >90% of inspections. Owing to the prolonged incubation, the chicks in EN hatched 2 days later than in CN. However, due to the shorter period spent in the nest in EN, fledging dates in both types of nests were similar. The similar body mass and survival of chicks from EN and CN suggest that these traits were influenced mainly by the rearing conditions. Our study emphasize the importance of the incubation phase as a constraint on clutch size.

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Low Density of Top Predators (Seabirds and Marine Mammals) in the High Arctic Pack Ice

Scientifica ◽

10.1155/2016/1982534 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Claude R. Joiris ◽

Karin Boos ◽

Diederik D’Hert ◽

Dominik A. Nachtsheim

Keyword(s):

Marine Mammals ◽

High Arctic ◽

The Arctic ◽

Arctic Seas ◽

Cetacean Species ◽

Little Auk ◽

Seabird Species ◽

Fin Whale ◽

Top Predators ◽

Pack Ice

The at-sea distribution of top predators, seabirds and marine mammals, was determined in the high Arctic pack ice on board the icebreaker RVPolarsternin July to September 2014. In total, 1,620 transect counts were realised, lasting 30 min each. The five most numerous seabird species represented 74% of the total of 15,150 individuals registered: kittiwakeRissa tridactyla, fulmarFulmarus glacialis, puffinFratercula arctica, Ross’s gullRhodostethia rosea, and little aukAlle alle. Eight cetacean species were tallied for a total of 330 individuals, mainly white-beaked dolphinLagenorhynchus albirostrisand fin whaleBalaenoptera physalus. Five pinniped species were represented by a total of 55 individuals and the polar bearUrsus maritimuswas represented by 12 individuals. Four main geographical zones were identified: from Tromsø to the outer marginal ice zone (OMIZ), the Arctic pack ice (close pack ice, CPI), the end of Lomonosov Ridge off Siberia, and the route off Siberia and northern Norway. Important differences were detected between zones, both in species composition and in individual abundance. Low numbers of species and high proportion of individuals for some of them can be considered to reflect very low biodiversity. Numbers encountered in zones 2 to 4 were very low in comparison with other European Arctic seas. The observed differences showed strong patterns.

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Trace gas exchange in a high-Arctic valley: 1. Variationsin CO2and CH4Flux between tundra vegetation types

Global Biogeochemical Cycles ◽

10.1029/1999gb001134 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 701-713 ◽

Cited By ~ 120

Author(s):

T. R. Christensen ◽

T. Friborg ◽

M. Sommerkorn ◽

J. Kaplan ◽

L. Illeris ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gas Exchange ◽

High Arctic ◽

Trace Gas ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Tundra Vegetation

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Foraging behavior of a high-Arctic zooplanktivorous alcid, the little auk, at the southern edge of its breeding range

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology ◽

10.1016/j.jembe.2015.11.010 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 475 ◽

pp. 89-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Dariusz Jakubas ◽

Lech M. Iliszko ◽

Hallvard Strøm ◽

Mirosław Darecki ◽

Kurt Jerstad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Foraging Behavior ◽

High Arctic ◽

Little Auk ◽

Breeding Range

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Climate change could overturn bird migration: Transarctic flights and high-latitude residency in a sea ice free Arctic

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-54228-5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Manon Clairbaux ◽

Jérôme Fort ◽

Paul Mathewson ◽

Warren Porter ◽

Hallvard Strøm ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

North Atlantic ◽

North Pacific ◽

Bird Migration ◽

High Arctic ◽

Little Auk ◽

Seabird Species ◽

The North ◽

The North Atlantic ◽

The North Pacific

AbstractClimate models predict that by 2050 the Arctic Ocean will be sea ice free each summer. Removing this barrier between the Atlantic and the Pacific will modify a wide range of ecological processes, including bird migration. Using published information, we identified 29 arctic-breeding seabird species, which currently migrate in the North Atlantic and could shift to a transarctic migration towards the North Pacific. We also identified 24 arctic-breeding seabird species which may shift from a migratory strategy to high-arctic year-round residency. To illustrate the biogeographical consequences of such drastic migratory shifts, we performed an in-depth study of little auks (Alle alle), the most numerous artic seabird. Coupling species distribution models and climatic models, we assessed the adequacy of future wintering and breeding areas for transarctic migrants and high-arctic year-round residents. Further, we used a mechanistic bioenergetics model (Niche Mapper), to compare the energetic costs of current little auk migration in the North Atlantic with potential transarctic and high-arctic residency strategies. Surprisingly, our results indicate that transarctic little auk migration, from the North Atlantic towards the North Pacific, may only be half as costly, energetically, than high-arctic residency or migration to the North Atlantic. Our study illustrates how global warming may radically modify the biogeography of migratory species, and provides a general methodological framework linking migratory energetics and spatial ecology.

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