The diet of High-Arctic seabirds in coastal and ice-covered, pelagic areas near the Svalbard archipelago

Food samples from six High-Arctic seabird species were collected during spring and summer seasons between 1982 and 1990 in the Svalbard region. The material came from coastal localities on the island of Spitsbergen and the marginal ice zone in eastern Svalbard waters. Polar cod Boreogadus saida was...

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Published in:Polar Research
Main Authors: Mehlum, F., Gabrielsen, G. W.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 1993
Subjects:
Online Access:https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/1983
https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v12i1.6698
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spelling ftjpolarres:oai:journals.openacademia.net:article/1983 2024-09-15T17:36:53+00:00 The diet of High-Arctic seabirds in coastal and ice-covered, pelagic areas near the Svalbard archipelago Mehlum, F. Gabrielsen, G. W. 1993-01-06 application/pdf https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/1983 https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v12i1.6698 eng eng Norwegian Polar Institute https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/1983/5232 https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/1983 doi:10.3402/polar.v12i1.6698 Polar Research; Vol. 12 No. 1 (1993); 1-20 1751-8369 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 1993 ftjpolarres https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v12i1.6698 2024-06-28T03:10:15Z Food samples from six High-Arctic seabird species were collected during spring and summer seasons between 1982 and 1990 in the Svalbard region. The material came from coastal localities on the island of Spitsbergen and the marginal ice zone in eastern Svalbard waters. Polar cod Boreogadus saida was the most frequently occurring prey in the ice-covered areas. Analysis of otoliths showed that most polar cod were one-or two-year olds. These year classes are known to associate with sea ice. Other ice-associated (sympagic) organisms, such as gammarid amphipods, were not found to be of high importance as prey for seabirds in the study area. However, the sea ice occurring in the area was mainly one year old. Such ice contains a less developed sympagic fauna than multi-year ice. The pelagic amphipod Parathemisto libellula, which is not sympagic but occurs in the water column, was also found to be an important prey in the marginal ice zone, especially for the Briinnich's guillemot Uria lomuia. The smallest of the seabird species studied, the little auk Alle alle, differed from the other five species in its diet, preying mainly upon smaller items such as copepods and young stages of amphipods, euphausiids and decapods. The diet of the various seabird species was in general more diverse in the coastal areas than in the marginal ice zone. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alle alle Boreogadus saida little auk polar cod Polar Research Sea ice Svalbard Copepods ice covered areas Spitsbergen uria Polar Research Polar Research 12 1 1 20
institution Open Polar
collection Polar Research
op_collection_id ftjpolarres
language English
description Food samples from six High-Arctic seabird species were collected during spring and summer seasons between 1982 and 1990 in the Svalbard region. The material came from coastal localities on the island of Spitsbergen and the marginal ice zone in eastern Svalbard waters. Polar cod Boreogadus saida was the most frequently occurring prey in the ice-covered areas. Analysis of otoliths showed that most polar cod were one-or two-year olds. These year classes are known to associate with sea ice. Other ice-associated (sympagic) organisms, such as gammarid amphipods, were not found to be of high importance as prey for seabirds in the study area. However, the sea ice occurring in the area was mainly one year old. Such ice contains a less developed sympagic fauna than multi-year ice. The pelagic amphipod Parathemisto libellula, which is not sympagic but occurs in the water column, was also found to be an important prey in the marginal ice zone, especially for the Briinnich's guillemot Uria lomuia. The smallest of the seabird species studied, the little auk Alle alle, differed from the other five species in its diet, preying mainly upon smaller items such as copepods and young stages of amphipods, euphausiids and decapods. The diet of the various seabird species was in general more diverse in the coastal areas than in the marginal ice zone.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Mehlum, F.
Gabrielsen, G. W.
spellingShingle Mehlum, F.
Gabrielsen, G. W.
The diet of High-Arctic seabirds in coastal and ice-covered, pelagic areas near the Svalbard archipelago
author_facet Mehlum, F.
Gabrielsen, G. W.
author_sort Mehlum, F.
title The diet of High-Arctic seabirds in coastal and ice-covered, pelagic areas near the Svalbard archipelago
title_short The diet of High-Arctic seabirds in coastal and ice-covered, pelagic areas near the Svalbard archipelago
title_full The diet of High-Arctic seabirds in coastal and ice-covered, pelagic areas near the Svalbard archipelago
title_fullStr The diet of High-Arctic seabirds in coastal and ice-covered, pelagic areas near the Svalbard archipelago
title_full_unstemmed The diet of High-Arctic seabirds in coastal and ice-covered, pelagic areas near the Svalbard archipelago
title_sort diet of high-arctic seabirds in coastal and ice-covered, pelagic areas near the svalbard archipelago
publisher Norwegian Polar Institute
publishDate 1993
url https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/1983
https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v12i1.6698
genre Alle alle
Boreogadus saida
little auk
polar cod
Polar Research
Sea ice
Svalbard
Copepods
ice covered areas
Spitsbergen
uria
genre_facet Alle alle
Boreogadus saida
little auk
polar cod
Polar Research
Sea ice
Svalbard
Copepods
ice covered areas
Spitsbergen
uria
op_source Polar Research; Vol. 12 No. 1 (1993); 1-20
1751-8369
op_relation https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/1983/5232
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/1983
doi:10.3402/polar.v12i1.6698
op_doi https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v12i1.6698
container_title Polar Research
container_volume 12
container_issue 1
container_start_page 1
op_container_end_page 20
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