Seabird Breeding Colonies in East and North Greenland: A Baseline

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Authors: Boertmann, David, Merkel, Flemming, Gilg, Olivier
• Other Authors: Aarhus University Aarhus, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR), Groupe de Recherche en Ecologie Arctique, Laboratoire Chrono-environnement (UMR 6249) (LCE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté COMUE (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté COMUE (UBFC), The aerial surveys in 2008 and 2009 were funded by the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum (Greenland Government) and the ship-based surveys in 2014 and 2016 by the Danish Environment Protection Agency (DANCEA), the Environment Agency for Mineral Resource Activities (Greenland Government), the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, and Aarhus University. The 2008 aerial survey in Southeast Greenland was financed by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. The GREA surveys (1979 – 2018) were funded by a large number of private and public grants over the past 40 years. And since 2011, the French Polar Institute IPEV (program Interactions 1036) deserve special mention for their long-term and invaluable support., ANR-16-CE34-0005,ILETOP,Impact des polluants historiques et émergents sur les prédateurs supérieurs marins de l'Arctique(2016)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: Colonial seabirds; Distribution; Greenland; Climate change; Oiseaux marins coloniaux; Groenland; Changements climatiques; [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment; Arctic; banquise; North Greenland; Sea ice; Somateria mollissima; Xema sabini
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03854021; https://hal.science/hal-03854021/document; https://hal.science/hal-03854021/file/Boertmann%20et%20al%202020%20Seabirds%20NE%20Greenland.pdf; https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic69885

International audience This paper presents the results of a number of aircraft-and boat-based surveys for seabird breeding colonies in East and North Greenland carried out in the period 2003 to 2018 and gives the first comprehensive overview of the distribution and size of the seabird breeding colonies in this remote and mainly uninhabited region. Seventeen seabird species breed in approximately 800 sites distributed very unevenly along the coasts, with high concentrations at the polynyas and long stretches with very few breeding seabirds. Climate changes are in full progress in East and North Greenland, especially affecting the sea ice regime, and seabirds are expected to respond to these changes in different ways. For example, since the 1980s, Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) have extended their breeding range more than two latitudinal degrees towards the north, now reaching the northernmost land on Earth. Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus) and Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) have immigrated, and Sabine's Gulls (Xema sabini) have increased and extended their range. Besides presenting survey results, this report may also serve as a baseline for future studies of the abundance of breeding seabirds in East and North Greenland. Cet article présente les résultats de comptages de colonies d’oiseaux marins nicheurs menés en bateau et en avion dans l’est et le nord du Groenland entre 2003 et 2018. Il s’agit de la première synthèse globale consacrée à la distribution et à la taille des colonies de reproduction d’oiseaux marins pour cette région reculée et principalement inhabitée. Dix-sept espèces d’oiseaux marins se reproduisent sur environ 800 sites répartis de façon très irrégulière le long des côtes, avec de fortes concentrations aux alentours des polynies, mais aussi de grandes régions avec très peu d’oiseaux marins nicheurs. Les changements climatiques sont déjà très perceptibles dans l’est et le nord du Groenland. Ils y impactent fortement le régime de la banquise et on s’attend à ce que les ...