NOTES Recent changes in the winter diet of murres (Uria spp.) in coastal Newfoundland waters

• Main Authors: Sherrylynn Rowe, Ian L. Jones, John W. Chardine, Richard D. Elliot, Brian G. Veitch
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic cod; Boreogadus saida; Newfoundland; Northwest Atlantic; Terre-Neuve; Uria aalge; Uria lomvia; uria
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.540.9409; http://www.mun.ca/serg/CJZ2000_78diet.pdf

Abstract: We investigated the winter diet of murres (Uria spp.) in coastal Newfoundland waters in relation to environ-mental and ecological changes that have occurred in the Northwest Atlantic since the 1980s. We analyzed the contents of 371 stomachs (311 from Thick-billed Murres, Uria lomvia, and 60 from Common Murres, Uria aalge) of birds shot by hunters around the Newfoundland coast during the winters of 1996–1998. We observed that the frequency of empty stomachs was greater in our study than in a similar study conducted during 1984–1986. We found no difference in the proportion of fish in the diet between the 1980s and the 1990s, however, Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida; from 55 to 12%) and capelin (Mallotus villosus; from 28 to 6%) decreased in frequency of occurrence. The proportion of stom-achs containing crustaceans and squid did not change between the 1980s and 1990s, but hyperiid amphipods (Parathemisto spp.) replaced euphausiids (Thysanoessa spp.) as the predominant crustacean. Changes in murre winter diet off the coast of Newfoundland corroborate other sources of information indicating that major changes in the distri-bution and biology of marine organisms occurred in the Northwest Atlantic during the 1990s. Résumé: Nous avons étudié le régime alimentaire d’hiver des guillemots (Uria spp.) dans les eaux côtières de Terre-Neuve en relation avec les changements environnementaux et écologiques qui se sont produits dans l’Atlantique du Nord-Ouest depuis les années 1980. Nous avons analysé les contenus stomacaux de 311 Guillemots de Brünnich (Uria lomvia) et de 60 Guillemots marmettes (Uria aalge) tués par des chasseurs près des côtes de Terre-Neuve au cours des