The co-distribution of seabirds and their juvenile fish prey in Baffin Bay

• Main Authors: LeBlanc, Mathieu, Mosbech, Anders, Fortier, Louis
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Arctic; Baffin Bay; Canada; Greenland; LeBlanc; Mathieu; Arctic cod; Baffin; Boreogadus saida; Climate change; Sea ice; Zooplankton
• Online Access: https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/the-codistribution-of-seabirds-and-their-juvenile-fish-prey-in-baffin-bay(60138bb9-a91e-4736-ab72-e1b1ee4e5d5a).html; https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/108478267/MathieuLeBlancPoster_arctinet2016_Mosbech.pdf

LeBlanc, Mathieu (1) ([e-mail]), A. Mosbech (2) and L. Fortier (1). (1) Takuvik and Québec-Océan, Department of Biology, Université Laval, Québec, Canada. (2) Department of Bioscience - Arctic Environment, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark. In arctic marine ecosystems, arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), the main pelagic forage fish, plays a key role by transferring energy from the zooplankton to the upper trophic levels, including seabirds. The interactions between fish and seabirds at the sea-ice edge, an environment increasingly common in the warming Arctic, are poorly documented. We test the hypothesis that the abundance and biomass of juvenile fish, especially at the sea-ice edge, influence the distribution and composition of the seabird assemblage. Hydroacoustic data were recorded continuously during the CCGS Amundsen GreenEdge 2016 cruise in southern Baffin Bay, using a hull-mounted EK60 multi-frequency echosounder. Pelagic nets were deployed to document the fish assemblage and to validate the acoustic echoes. Seabird observations during transit periods and seabird sampling in Greenland waters were completed. This study will provide insights in the predator-prey dynamics of seabirds and fish in the Arctic in a context of climate change.