Nutrient fuxes from an Arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem

Seabirds are important vectors for nutrient transfer across ecosystem boundaries. In this seasonal study, we evaluate the impact of an Arctic colony (Alkhornet, Svalbard) of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and Brünnich’s Guillemots (Uria lomvia) on stream nutrient concentrations and fuxes...

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Published in:Polar Biology
Main Authors: Finne, Eirik Aasmo, Varpe, Øystein, Durant, Joël, Gabrielsen, Geir W., Poste, Amanda
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10037/24502
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03024-5
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author Finne, Eirik Aasmo
Varpe, Øystein
Durant, Joël
Gabrielsen, Geir W.
Poste, Amanda
author_facet Finne, Eirik Aasmo
Varpe, Øystein
Durant, Joël
Gabrielsen, Geir W.
Poste, Amanda
author_sort Finne, Eirik Aasmo
collection University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive
container_title Polar Biology
description Seabirds are important vectors for nutrient transfer across ecosystem boundaries. In this seasonal study, we evaluate the impact of an Arctic colony (Alkhornet, Svalbard) of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and Brünnich’s Guillemots (Uria lomvia) on stream nutrient concentrations and fuxes, as well as utilization by coastal biota. Water samples from seabird-impacted and control streams were collected regularly throughout the melt season (June–September) for nutrient and organic carbon analysis. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) was used to assess whether seabirdderived nitrogen (N) could be traced into flamentous stream algae and marine algae as well as consumers (amphipods). Concentrations of nitrate (NO 3 − ) and nitrite (NO 2 − ) peaked in July at 9200 µg N L −1 in seabird-impacted streams, 70 times higher than for control streams. Mean concentrations of phosphate (PO 4 3− ) in seabird-impacted streams were 21.9 µg P L −1 , tenfold higher than in controls. Areal fuxes from seabird-impacted study catchments of NO 3 − + NO 2 − and PO 4 3− had estimated ranges of 400–2100 kg N km −2 and 15–70 kg P km −2 , respectively. Higher δ 15 N was found in all biota collected from seabird-impacted sites, indicating utilization of seabird-derived nitrogen. Acrosiphonia sp. from seabird-impacted sites had higher δ 15 N values (20–23‰ vs. 3–6‰) and lower C:N ratios (10.9 vs. 14.3) than specimens collected from control sites, indicating reliance on seabird-derived nitrogen sources and potentially higher N-availability at seabird-impacted nearshore sites. Our study demonstrates how marine nutrients brought onshore by seabirds also can return to the ocean and be utilized by nearshore primary producers and consumers.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
genre Arctic
Arctic
Polar Biology
rissa tridactyla
Svalbard
Uria lomvia
uria
genre_facet Arctic
Arctic
Polar Biology
rissa tridactyla
Svalbard
Uria lomvia
uria
geographic Alkhornet
Arctic
Svalbard
geographic_facet Alkhornet
Arctic
Svalbard
id ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/24502
institution Open Polar
language English
long_lat ENVELOPE(13.823,13.823,78.213,78.213)
op_collection_id ftunivtroemsoe
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03024-5
op_relation Polar Biology
Egen institusjon: University Centre in Svalbard
Norges forskningsråd: 268458
Egen institusjon: University of Oslo
Andre: Jan Christensen’s endowment grant
Andre: The Nansen Legacy; No. 276730)
Finne EA, Varpe Ø, Durant JM, Gabrielsen GW, Poste A. Nutrient fuxes from an Arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem. Polar Biology. 2022
FRIDAID 2011795
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/24502
op_rights openAccess
Copyright 2022 The Author(s)
publishDate 2022
publisher Springer
record_format openpolar
spelling ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/24502 2025-04-13T14:11:57+00:00 Nutrient fuxes from an Arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem Finne, Eirik Aasmo Varpe, Øystein Durant, Joël Gabrielsen, Geir W. Poste, Amanda 2022-02-22 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/24502 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03024-5 eng eng Springer Polar Biology Egen institusjon: University Centre in Svalbard Norges forskningsråd: 268458 Egen institusjon: University of Oslo Andre: Jan Christensen’s endowment grant Andre: The Nansen Legacy; No. 276730) Finne EA, Varpe Ø, Durant JM, Gabrielsen GW, Poste A. Nutrient fuxes from an Arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem. Polar Biology. 2022 FRIDAID 2011795 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/24502 openAccess Copyright 2022 The Author(s) VDP::Matematikk og naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 VDP::Mathematics and natural scienses: 400::Zoology and botany: 480 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2022 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03024-5 2025-03-14T05:17:55Z Seabirds are important vectors for nutrient transfer across ecosystem boundaries. In this seasonal study, we evaluate the impact of an Arctic colony (Alkhornet, Svalbard) of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and Brünnich’s Guillemots (Uria lomvia) on stream nutrient concentrations and fuxes, as well as utilization by coastal biota. Water samples from seabird-impacted and control streams were collected regularly throughout the melt season (June–September) for nutrient and organic carbon analysis. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) was used to assess whether seabirdderived nitrogen (N) could be traced into flamentous stream algae and marine algae as well as consumers (amphipods). Concentrations of nitrate (NO 3 − ) and nitrite (NO 2 − ) peaked in July at 9200 µg N L −1 in seabird-impacted streams, 70 times higher than for control streams. Mean concentrations of phosphate (PO 4 3− ) in seabird-impacted streams were 21.9 µg P L −1 , tenfold higher than in controls. Areal fuxes from seabird-impacted study catchments of NO 3 − + NO 2 − and PO 4 3− had estimated ranges of 400–2100 kg N km −2 and 15–70 kg P km −2 , respectively. Higher δ 15 N was found in all biota collected from seabird-impacted sites, indicating utilization of seabird-derived nitrogen. Acrosiphonia sp. from seabird-impacted sites had higher δ 15 N values (20–23‰ vs. 3–6‰) and lower C:N ratios (10.9 vs. 14.3) than specimens collected from control sites, indicating reliance on seabird-derived nitrogen sources and potentially higher N-availability at seabird-impacted nearshore sites. Our study demonstrates how marine nutrients brought onshore by seabirds also can return to the ocean and be utilized by nearshore primary producers and consumers. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Polar Biology rissa tridactyla Svalbard Uria lomvia uria University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Alkhornet ENVELOPE(13.823,13.823,78.213,78.213) Arctic Svalbard Polar Biology
spellingShingle VDP::Matematikk og naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480
VDP::Mathematics and natural scienses: 400::Zoology and botany: 480
Finne, Eirik Aasmo
Varpe, Øystein
Durant, Joël
Gabrielsen, Geir W.
Poste, Amanda
Nutrient fuxes from an Arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem
title Nutrient fuxes from an Arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem
title_full Nutrient fuxes from an Arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem
title_fullStr Nutrient fuxes from an Arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem
title_full_unstemmed Nutrient fuxes from an Arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem
title_short Nutrient fuxes from an Arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem
title_sort nutrient fuxes from an arctic seabird colony to the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem
topic VDP::Matematikk og naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480
VDP::Mathematics and natural scienses: 400::Zoology and botany: 480
topic_facet VDP::Matematikk og naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480
VDP::Mathematics and natural scienses: 400::Zoology and botany: 480
url https://hdl.handle.net/10037/24502
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03024-5