An interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining Arctic seabird colony
Abstract Interspecific foraging associations (IFAs) are biological interactions where two or more species forage in association with each other. Climate‐induced reductions in Arctic sea ice have increased polar bear (Ursus maritimus) foraging in seabird colonies, which creates foraging opportunities...
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Wiley
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11012 https://doaj.org/article/0e5a8d9719e149a7b85cafb467f8ac00 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0e5a8d9719e149a7b85cafb467f8ac00 2024-09-15T18:02:42+00:00 An interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining Arctic seabird colony Andrew F. Barnas Cassandra A. B. Simone Erica A. Geldart Oliver P. Love Patrick M. Jagielski H. Grant Gilchrist Evan S. Richardson Cody J. Dey Christina A. D. Semeniuk 2024-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11012 https://doaj.org/article/0e5a8d9719e149a7b85cafb467f8ac00 EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11012 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.11012 https://doaj.org/article/0e5a8d9719e149a7b85cafb467f8ac00 Ecology and Evolution, Vol 14, Iss 3, Pp n/a-n/a (2024) animal behaviour drone eider foraging ecology parasitism species interaction Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11012 2024-08-05T17:49:46Z Abstract Interspecific foraging associations (IFAs) are biological interactions where two or more species forage in association with each other. Climate‐induced reductions in Arctic sea ice have increased polar bear (Ursus maritimus) foraging in seabird colonies, which creates foraging opportunities for avian predators. We used drone video of bears foraging within a common eider (Somateria mollissima) colony on East Bay Island (Nunavut, Canada) in 2017 to investigate herring gull (Larus argentatus) foraging in association with bears. We recorded nest visitation by gulls following n = 193 eider flushing events from nests during incubation. The probability of gulls visiting eider nests increased with higher number of gulls present (β = 0.14 ± 0.03 [SE], p < .001) and for nests previously visited by a bear (β = 1.14 ± 0.49 [SE], p < .02). In our model examining the probability of gulls consuming eggs from nests, we failed to detect statistically significant effects for the number of gulls present (β = 0.09 ± 0.05 [SE], p < .07) or for nests previously visited by a bear (β = −0.92 ± 0.71 [SE], p < .19). Gulls preferred to visit nests behind bears (χ2 = 18, df = 1, p < .0001), indicating gulls are risk averse in the presence of polar bears. Our study provides novel insights on an Arctic IFA, and we present evidence that gulls capitalize on nests made available due to disturbance associated with foraging bears, as eiders disturbed off their nest allow gulls easier access to eggs. We suggest the IFA between gulls and polar bears is parasitic, as gulls are consuming terrestrial resources which would have eventually been consumed by bears. This finding has implications for estimating the energetic contribution of bird eggs to polar bear summer diets in that the total number of available clutches to consume may be reduced due to avian predators. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common Eider Nunavut polar bear Sea ice Somateria mollissima Ursus maritimus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Ecology and Evolution 14 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
animal behaviour drone eider foraging ecology parasitism species interaction Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
animal behaviour drone eider foraging ecology parasitism species interaction Ecology QH540-549.5 Andrew F. Barnas Cassandra A. B. Simone Erica A. Geldart Oliver P. Love Patrick M. Jagielski H. Grant Gilchrist Evan S. Richardson Cody J. Dey Christina A. D. Semeniuk An interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining Arctic seabird colony |
topic_facet |
animal behaviour drone eider foraging ecology parasitism species interaction Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Interspecific foraging associations (IFAs) are biological interactions where two or more species forage in association with each other. Climate‐induced reductions in Arctic sea ice have increased polar bear (Ursus maritimus) foraging in seabird colonies, which creates foraging opportunities for avian predators. We used drone video of bears foraging within a common eider (Somateria mollissima) colony on East Bay Island (Nunavut, Canada) in 2017 to investigate herring gull (Larus argentatus) foraging in association with bears. We recorded nest visitation by gulls following n = 193 eider flushing events from nests during incubation. The probability of gulls visiting eider nests increased with higher number of gulls present (β = 0.14 ± 0.03 [SE], p < .001) and for nests previously visited by a bear (β = 1.14 ± 0.49 [SE], p < .02). In our model examining the probability of gulls consuming eggs from nests, we failed to detect statistically significant effects for the number of gulls present (β = 0.09 ± 0.05 [SE], p < .07) or for nests previously visited by a bear (β = −0.92 ± 0.71 [SE], p < .19). Gulls preferred to visit nests behind bears (χ2 = 18, df = 1, p < .0001), indicating gulls are risk averse in the presence of polar bears. Our study provides novel insights on an Arctic IFA, and we present evidence that gulls capitalize on nests made available due to disturbance associated with foraging bears, as eiders disturbed off their nest allow gulls easier access to eggs. We suggest the IFA between gulls and polar bears is parasitic, as gulls are consuming terrestrial resources which would have eventually been consumed by bears. This finding has implications for estimating the energetic contribution of bird eggs to polar bear summer diets in that the total number of available clutches to consume may be reduced due to avian predators. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Andrew F. Barnas Cassandra A. B. Simone Erica A. Geldart Oliver P. Love Patrick M. Jagielski H. Grant Gilchrist Evan S. Richardson Cody J. Dey Christina A. D. Semeniuk |
author_facet |
Andrew F. Barnas Cassandra A. B. Simone Erica A. Geldart Oliver P. Love Patrick M. Jagielski H. Grant Gilchrist Evan S. Richardson Cody J. Dey Christina A. D. Semeniuk |
author_sort |
Andrew F. Barnas |
title |
An interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining Arctic seabird colony |
title_short |
An interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining Arctic seabird colony |
title_full |
An interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining Arctic seabird colony |
title_fullStr |
An interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining Arctic seabird colony |
title_full_unstemmed |
An interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining Arctic seabird colony |
title_sort |
interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining arctic seabird colony |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11012 https://doaj.org/article/0e5a8d9719e149a7b85cafb467f8ac00 |
genre |
Common Eider Nunavut polar bear Sea ice Somateria mollissima Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Common Eider Nunavut polar bear Sea ice Somateria mollissima Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 14, Iss 3, Pp n/a-n/a (2024) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11012 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.11012 https://doaj.org/article/0e5a8d9719e149a7b85cafb467f8ac00 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11012 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
3 |
_version_ |
1810440125209903104 |