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http://hdl.handle.net/2445/149156
Title: | Relationships between isotopic ratios, body condition and breeding success in a High Arctic seabird community |
Author: | Hovinen, Johanna E.H. Tarroux, Arnaud Ramírez Benítez, Francisco José González Forero, Manuela Descamps, Sébastien |
Keywords: | Ocells marins Nutrició animal Àrtic, Oceà Sea birds Animal nutrition Arctic Ocean |
Issue Date: | 21-Mar-2019 |
Publisher: | Inter-Research |
Abstract: | Predators such as seabirds are often used as bio-indicators of the marine environment. This is based on the assumption that changes in seabird populations are driven by changes in their prey. We tested this assumption in a High Arctic seabird community by assessing the relationships between the diet, body condition, and breeding performance of 4 ecologically different species: the little auk Alle alle, black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, Brünnich's guillemot Uria lomvia, and glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus, breeding in Svalbard, Norway. Interannual changes in seabird diet (2009-2015) were assessed by estimating their carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios (δ15N and δ13C) during the breeding and non-breeding seasons (i.e. using blood and feather tissues). We found interannual variation in the isotopic ratios during both seasons in all 4 species. These variations differed among species, thus suggesting dietary changes, instead of changes in isotopic baselines, as the most plausible mechanism underlying such patterns. We also found that seabirds had a lower average hatching success when the average δ15N during the previous non-breeding season was higher. Our results suggest that changes in the average prey composition during the non-breeding season may partially explain changes in breeding performance of Svalbard seabirds. |
Note: | Reproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12886 |
It is part of: | Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2019, vol. 613, p. 183-195 |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2445/149156 |
Related resource: | https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12886 |
ISSN: | 0171-8630 |
Appears in Collections: | Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals) |
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694617.pdf | 1.33 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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