Composition of chick meals from one of the main little auk (Alle alle) breeding colonies in Northwest Greenland

International audience During the last decade, increasing information on little auk (Alle alle) biology, ecology and behaviour has been reported. However, only a few of these studies have focused on the breeding population in the Avanersuaq (Thule) district of Northwest Greenland, where 80 % of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Biology
Main Authors: Frandsen, Marie, Fort, Jérôme, Rigét, Frank, Galatius, Anders, Mosbech, Anders
Other Authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University, Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University Aarhus
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2014
Subjects:
Little auk
Chick diet
High arctic
Seabirds
Calanus species
envir
anthro-se
Arctic
Greenland
Alle alle
Avanersuaq
Calanus hyperboreus
little auk
Polar Biology
Thule
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1491-0
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01100258
Description
Summary:International audience During the last decade, increasing information on little auk (Alle alle) biology, ecology and behaviour has been reported. However, only a few of these studies have focused on the breeding population in the Avanersuaq (Thule) district of Northwest Greenland, where 80 % of the global little auk population is estimated to breed. This study reports on the chick diet composition from one of the largest colonies, the Paakitsoq colony, located on the south-eastern margin of the North Water (NOW) Polynya. Results revealed the highest proportion of Calanus hyperboreus, a large lipid-rich copepod, in chick diet reported for any little auk colony. Results confirmed that the cold, highly productive waters of the NOW Polynya are favourable foraging grounds for the little auks during the breeding season. Species diversity within and between the chick meals was low, which probably eflects a high availability of a few preferred prey species. Individual chick meals were generally low in number of prey items and total energy content compared with other published results. This may be explained by a higher feeding frequency or by the samples being collected late in thebreeding period (during late chick rearing), when chicks have a reduced growth rate and may require less energy than at earlier developmental stages.

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