A two-fold increase in migration distance does not have breeding consequences in a long-distance migratory seabird with high flight costs

• Published in: Marine Ecology Progress Series
• Main Authors: Dufour, P, Wojczulanis-Jakubas, K, Lavergne, S, Renaud, J, Jakubas, D, Descamps, S
• Other Authors: RAGT, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry ), Institut de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand (ICCF), SIGMA Clermont (SIGMA Clermont)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Université Clermont Auvergne 2017-2020 (UCA 2017-2020 )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Arctic; Greenland; Svalbard; Alle alle; Iceland; little auk
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03431765; https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13535

International audience Whether variation of winter migration distance among individuals within a population has consequences on their reproductive performance has rarely been assessed. Using individual global location sensor-tracking, we determined variation in migration distance, and its breeding consequences, in a Svalbard colony of the little auk Alle alle , a high-Arctic seabird with high flight costs. We found 2 distinct wintering quarters (north of Iceland and SW Greenland) implying a 2-fold difference in migration distance (1500 vs. 3100 km on average from the colony). This migration route from Svalbard to Greenland is among the longest recorded distances for an alcid species. Birds travelling a longer distance were more likely to be females and smaller, but more importantly, migration strategy had no apparent effect on reproductive performance (either timing or success). Our results contradict predictive studies which suggested that the establishment of migration routes to different winter destinations may be limited by the energetic constraints of flight. Our results show that a longer migration route does not necessarily have carry-over effects on subsequent reproduction.