Data from: Combined bottom-up and top-down pressures drive catastrophic population declines of Arctic skuas in Scotland ...

• Main Authors: Perkins, Allan, Ratcliffe, Norman, Suddaby, Dave, Ribbands, Brian, Smith, Claire, Ellis, Pete, Meek, Eric, Bolton, Mark
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2019
• Subjects: sandeel; Stercorarius skua; Sterna paradisaea; Uria aalge; Fratercula arctica; Stercorarius parasiticus; Marine conservation; food availability; Rissa tridactyla; Arctic; Arctic skua; Arctic tern; Atlantic puffin; Black-legged Kittiwake; Climate change; common guillemot; fratercula; Great skua; Northeast Atlantic; rissa tridactyla; uria
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.v056r5h; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.v056r5h

1. Understanding drivers of population change is critical for effective species conservation. In the northeast Atlantic Ocean, recent changes amongst seabird communities are linked to human and climate change impacts on foodwebs. Many species have declined severely, with food shortages and increased predation reducing productivity. Arctic skua Stercorarius parasiticus, a kleptoparasite of other seabirds, is one such species. 2. The aim of the study was to determine relative effects of bottom-up and top-down pressures on Arctic skuas across multiple colonies in a rapidly declining national population. 3. Long-term monitoring data were used to quantify changes in population size and productivity of Arctic skuas, their hosts (black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, common guillemot Uria aalge, Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica, Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea), and an apex predator (great skua Stercorarius skua) over 24 years (1992–2015) in Scotland. We used digital mapping and statistical models to determine ... : Raw data on species population size and breeding success per colony per yearPerkins_ArcticSkua_0001_RawData_22July2018.xlsCleaned data for analysing population trendsPerkins_ArcticSkua_001_DataPopulationTrends_22July2018.xlsCleaned data for analysing productivity trendsPerkins_ArcticSkua_002_DataProductivityTrends_22July2018.xlsDataset for analysing associations with Arctic skua population trendsPerkins_ArcticSkua_003_DataPopulationTrendAssociations_22July2018.xlsDataset for analysing associations with Arctic skua productivityPerkins_ArcticSkua_004_DataProductivityAssociations_22July2018.xlsSAS code for analysing population trendsPerkins_ArcticSkua_005_CodePopulationTrends_22July2018.txtSAS code for analysing productivity trendsPerkins_ArcticSkua_006_CodeProductivityTrends_22July2018.txtSAS code for analysing associations with Arctic skua population trendsPerkins_ArcticSkua_007_CodePopulationTrendAssociations_22July2018.txtSAS code for analysing associations with Arctic skua ...