The significance of Southwest Greenland as winter quarters for seabirds

The coastal and offshore waters of Southwest Greenland are internationally important winter quarters for seabirds. We crudely estimate a minimum of 3.5 million seabirds using the region in winter, mainly from Arctic Canada, Greenland and Svalbard, with smaller numbers also from Alaska, Iceland, main...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bird Conservation International
Main Authors: BOERTMANN, DAVID, LYNGS, PETER, MERKEL, FLEMMING RAVN, MOSBECH, ANDERS
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2004
Subjects:
Nature and Landscape Conservation
Animal Science and Zoology
Ecology
Arctic
Svalbard
Canada
Greenland
Norway
Alle alle
brünnich's guillemot
Common Eider
Iceland
King Eider
little auk
Somateria mollissima
Uria lomvia
Alaska
uria
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270904000127
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0959270904000127
Description
Summary:The coastal and offshore waters of Southwest Greenland are internationally important winter quarters for seabirds. We crudely estimate a minimum of 3.5 million seabirds using the region in winter, mainly from Arctic Canada, Greenland and Svalbard, with smaller numbers also from Alaska, Iceland, mainland Norway and Russia. The most numerous species are Common Eider Somateria mollissima , King Eider S. spectabilis , Brünnich's Guillemot Uria lomvia and Little Auk Alle alle . The most immediate threat to the seabirds in Southwest Greenland is hunting, and current levels of usage of the Greenland breeding populations of Brünnich's Guillemot and Common Eider are considered unsustainable. Conservation measures are required for these populations.

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