Foraging strategy of little auks during chick rearing in northwest Greenland

• Main Authors: Mosbech, Anders, Møller, Eva Friis, Johansen, Kasper Lambert, Lyngs, Peter
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Arctic; Greenland; Johansen; Svalbard; little auk; Zooplankton; Copepods
• Online Access: https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/foraging-strategy-of-little-auks-during-chick-rearing-in-northwest-greenland(11713208-80e1-4b57-bddd-977c33f1eaf4).html

Foraging strategy of little auks during chick rearing in northwest Greenland Anders Mosbech, Kasper Johansen, Eva Friis Møller & Peter Lyngs Department of Biology and Arctic Center, Aarhus University, Denmark An estimated 80 % of the global little auk population breeds in the coastal landscape bordering the north water polynya in high Arctic northwest Greenland, and from this main breeding area very little is known on foraging behavior. Little auks are feeding on lipid-rich copepods associated with cold artic waters, and are potentially important for monitoring and assessing the impact of the ongoing warming of the Arctic. Here we present the first results from GPS tracking of breeding little auks in northwest Greenland, involving data from four different breeding colonies. We examine time budgets, foraging trip patterns and habitat preferences at foraging areas, including comparison with zooplankton data collected simultaneous with the GPS tracking on transects through the main foraging areas. Results are discussed in relation to the rich information published on little auk foraging behavior in the Svalbard Area.