Why is the North Water Polynya Region such an important breeding area for little auks?

• Main Authors: Møller, Eva Friis, Agersted, Mette Dalgaard, Johansen, Kasper Lambert, Riget, Frank Farsø, Mosbech, Anders
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Baffin Bay; Greenland; Smith Sound; Baffin; greenlandic; little auk; North Atlantic; Smith sound
• Online Access: https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/why-is-the-north-water-polynya-region-such-an-important-breeding-area-for-little-auks(5a6562d9-42a2-4d1f-9f72-72f336b43fb6).html; http://conferences.au.dk/fileadmin/conferences/2017/NOW/NOW_Conference_web_14nov_Final.pdf

The North Water Polynya Region in Smith Sound and the Northern Baffin Bay is a highly productive area with great importance to many seabirds and marine mammals. Among them are the little auk, the most abundant seabird in the North Atlantic. Approximately 33 million pairs, or > 80 % of the global population, breed within a range of 325 km along the Greenlandic shores of NOW. In this presentation, we discuss what makes NOW such an important area. We base the discussion on data on oceanography, little auk abundance and their zooplankton prey along the west Greenland coast between 73 and 78.5°N in August 2015 as well as other available data on zooplankton abundance along the west coast of Greenland. Furthermore, we include investigations of little auk chick meals and evaluate the potential impact of little auk foraging on the zooplankton community. Our analyses emphasize the tight linkage between the little auks and Calanus during the chick-rearing period. In NOW, little auks were mainly feeding their chicks Calanus between 3 and 5 mm, C. hyperboreus in particular. As a consequence of the large little auk breeding population, the potential mortality of the older stages of Calanus caused by their foraging was significant. The distribution of little auks during the breeding season depends on suitable nesting sites and access to adequate prey, both when the birds first arrive to the breeding area, and later when they feed their chicks. All of which, under current climate conditions make the northern Baffin Bay the major little auk breeding area.