From seabirds to sediments: the ecological footprint of seabirds at a prominent North Atlantic breeding colony assessed using a multi-proxy paleolimnological approach ...

• Main Author: Bosch, Johanna-Lisa
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2023
• Subjects: Newfoundland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48336/63mc-b197; https://research.library.mun.ca/16108/

Seabirds, by assimilating marine prey and subsequently redistributing nutrients through their feces and decaying remains, actively participate in the transfer of marine-derived nutrients from the sea to the land in their role as ecological intermediaries. Through analysis of lake/pond sediments influenced by these nutrients, paleolimnology has shed light on the ecological processes that shape seabird nesting habitats. However, there is a current need to develop species-specific proxies that can be used to identify the source of nutrient transfer in multispecies colonies. This thesis examines the historical shifts of the northern gannet (Morus bassanus) colony in Cape St. Mary's (CSM) Ecological Reserve using a paleolimnological approach, and also examines the use of sedimentary DNA (sedDNA) as a tool to identify relationships between the fecal bacterial communities of various seabird species breeding in Newfoundland and the bacterial communities of the sediments that they interact with. I inferred past ...