Seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the North Water Polynya: A multiple-indicator approach
Each year, millions of seabirds migrate to the North Water Polynya, northern Baffin Bay, to feed in its productive waters during the 6 months that the polynya is free of ice. We evaluated seasonal shifts in diets of 3 species using the North Water: dovekie Alle alle, thick-billed murre Uria lomvia,...
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ftcdlib:qt5fd9r9g4 2023-05-15T13:16:21+02:00 Seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the North Water Polynya: A multiple-indicator approach Karnovsky, NJ Hobson, KA Iverson, S Hunt, GL 291 - 299 2008-04-07 application/pdf http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/5fd9r9g4 english eng eScholarship, University of California qt5fd9r9g4 http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/5fd9r9g4 Attribution (CC BY): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ CC-BY Karnovsky, NJ; Hobson, KA; Iverson, S; & Hunt, GL. (2008). Seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the North Water Polynya: A multiple-indicator approach. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 357, 291 - 299. doi:10.3354/meps07295. UC Irvine: Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/5fd9r9g4 diet assessment stomach contents stable isotope analysis fatty acid signatures seabird Arctic polynya article 2008 ftcdlib https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07295 2018-07-06T22:51:42Z Each year, millions of seabirds migrate to the North Water Polynya, northern Baffin Bay, to feed in its productive waters during the 6 months that the polynya is free of ice. We evaluated seasonal shifts in diets of 3 species using the North Water: dovekie Alle alle, thick-billed murre Uria lomvia, and black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla. Diets were assessed through a combination of stable isotope analysis of muscle tissue, fatty acid analysis of subcutaneous fat, and stomach content analysis. Dovekies had the lowest δ15N values and hence lowest trophic level in spring and summer, corresponding to their consumption of herbivorous copepods. In fall, their δ15N values increased as they switched to feeding at a higher trophic level on primary carnivores such as amphipods and fish. Throughout the study period, kittiwakes and murres had stomach contents and stable isotope values similar to dovekies in fall. Fatty acid signatures of black-legged kittiwakes and dovekies feeding in fall were similar, likely due to the reliance of both species on the pteropod Limacina limacina. Our study highlights the seasonal nature of prey availability and seabird diets in the polynya, as well as the utility of simultaneously using conventional stomach content analysis and stable isotope and fatty acid analyses to infer dietary patterns in marine food webs. © Inter-Research 2008. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alle alle Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Black-legged Kittiwake Dovekie rissa tridactyla thick-billed murre Uria lomvia Copepods uria University of California: eScholarship Arctic Baffin Bay Marine Ecology Progress Series 357 291 299 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
English |
topic |
diet assessment stomach contents stable isotope analysis fatty acid signatures seabird Arctic polynya |
spellingShingle |
diet assessment stomach contents stable isotope analysis fatty acid signatures seabird Arctic polynya Karnovsky, NJ Hobson, KA Iverson, S Hunt, GL Seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the North Water Polynya: A multiple-indicator approach |
topic_facet |
diet assessment stomach contents stable isotope analysis fatty acid signatures seabird Arctic polynya |
description |
Each year, millions of seabirds migrate to the North Water Polynya, northern Baffin Bay, to feed in its productive waters during the 6 months that the polynya is free of ice. We evaluated seasonal shifts in diets of 3 species using the North Water: dovekie Alle alle, thick-billed murre Uria lomvia, and black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla. Diets were assessed through a combination of stable isotope analysis of muscle tissue, fatty acid analysis of subcutaneous fat, and stomach content analysis. Dovekies had the lowest δ15N values and hence lowest trophic level in spring and summer, corresponding to their consumption of herbivorous copepods. In fall, their δ15N values increased as they switched to feeding at a higher trophic level on primary carnivores such as amphipods and fish. Throughout the study period, kittiwakes and murres had stomach contents and stable isotope values similar to dovekies in fall. Fatty acid signatures of black-legged kittiwakes and dovekies feeding in fall were similar, likely due to the reliance of both species on the pteropod Limacina limacina. Our study highlights the seasonal nature of prey availability and seabird diets in the polynya, as well as the utility of simultaneously using conventional stomach content analysis and stable isotope and fatty acid analyses to infer dietary patterns in marine food webs. © Inter-Research 2008. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Karnovsky, NJ Hobson, KA Iverson, S Hunt, GL |
author_facet |
Karnovsky, NJ Hobson, KA Iverson, S Hunt, GL |
author_sort |
Karnovsky, NJ |
title |
Seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the North Water Polynya: A multiple-indicator approach |
title_short |
Seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the North Water Polynya: A multiple-indicator approach |
title_full |
Seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the North Water Polynya: A multiple-indicator approach |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the North Water Polynya: A multiple-indicator approach |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the North Water Polynya: A multiple-indicator approach |
title_sort |
seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the north water polynya: a multiple-indicator approach |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/5fd9r9g4 |
op_coverage |
291 - 299 |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay |
genre |
Alle alle Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Black-legged Kittiwake Dovekie rissa tridactyla thick-billed murre Uria lomvia Copepods uria |
genre_facet |
Alle alle Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Black-legged Kittiwake Dovekie rissa tridactyla thick-billed murre Uria lomvia Copepods uria |
op_source |
Karnovsky, NJ; Hobson, KA; Iverson, S; & Hunt, GL. (2008). Seasonal changes in diets of seabirds in the North Water Polynya: A multiple-indicator approach. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 357, 291 - 299. doi:10.3354/meps07295. UC Irvine: Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/5fd9r9g4 |
op_relation |
qt5fd9r9g4 http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/5fd9r9g4 |
op_rights |
Attribution (CC BY): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07295 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
357 |
container_start_page |
291 |
op_container_end_page |
299 |
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1766273625549176832 |