From research to cross-boundary management action: addressing the decline of the thick-billed murre in the North Atlantic

• Main Authors: 3rd World Seabird Conference 2021, Frederiksen, Morten
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Underline Science Inc. 2021
• Subjects: Animal Science; Ornithology; Canada; Greenland; Elliott; Thorarinsson; Aili; Kyle; Greenland Institute of Natural Resources; Iceland; North Atlantic; Norwegian Polar Institute; thick-billed murre; Uria lomvia; uria
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48448/x7gk-dh28; https://underline.io/lecture/34635-from-research-to-cross-boundary-management-action-addressing-the-decline-of-the-thick-billed-murre-in-the-north-atlantic

Abstract: Many North Atlantic populations of thick-billed murres Uria lomvia are declining rapidly. Specifically, all populations wintering off West Greenland are declining, whereas most populations wintering off Atlantic Canada are stable. Murres are migratory and often cross international boundaries between their breeding and wintering areas. We have aimed to understand the impact of the various potential drivers of this decline, most importantly human harvest and climate change-related variation in oceanographic conditions in the wintering areas. Oceanographic conditions, including the state of the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre, are hypothesized to affect food availability, energy costs and thus energy balance and survival. We have used a variety of approaches to quantify the importance of various drivers for murre population growth. Population models indicate that low pre-breeding survival may be responsible for the observed large-scale declines. In early 2022, we bring together researchers and representatives of management agencies from four countries to present results of the project and discuss options for coordinated cross-boundary management, potentially a legally binding international management plan. Authors: Morten Frederiksen¹, Sébastien Descamps², Kyle Elliott³, Jérôme Fort⁴, Nicholas Huffeldt⁵, Aili Labansen⁵, Jannie Linnebjerg¹, Flemming Merkel¹, Gregory Robertson⁶, Thorkell Thorarinsson⁷ ¹Aarhus University, ²Norwegian Polar Institute, ³McGill University, ⁴Université La Rochelle, ⁵Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, ⁶Environment Canada, ⁷Northeast Iceland Nature Centre