Consequences of Contrasting Foraging Conditions for Little Auks in the Greenland Sea

P.I.：卡尔诺夫斯基建议编号：ARC-0612504小海雀(Alle Alle)是一种小型食浮性海鸟，它们迁徙到北极高地，在格陵兰岛东岸和斯皮茨卑尔根西岸繁殖，并在格陵兰海觅食。格陵兰海的特点是，发源于北冰洋或大西洋的洋流截然不同。因此，小海豚在格陵兰岛东海岸觅食，在寒冷的北极水域觅食，能够找到来自北冰洋的大型富含脂肪的桡足类动物(Calanus Hyperboreus)。小海雀在它们位于斯匹次卑尔根西南部的殖民地附近寻找食物，它们在受到大西洋变暖海水影响的水域中觅食。它们吃的是体型较小、能量含量较低的桡足类动物--冰河水蚤。这项研究的目的是确定这些不同的海洋状况对小黑鲸觅食和繁殖行为的影响。特别是，这些科学家将检验基于不同环境中可用猎物的假设，因为来自两个地区的小黑鲸带回幼崽的猎物在种类组成和能量含量上会有所不同。他们还假设，与格陵兰雏鸟相比，斯皮茨卑尔根雏鸟的生长速度更慢，羽毛更轻，而且格陵兰鸟类的繁殖成功率和成鸟存活率将高于斯皮茨卑尔根雏鸟。小海雀提供了一个很好的机会，可以直接观察不同觅食条件对同一物种鸟类的影响。了解小海雀对其殖民地附近水团的反应将增加对扰动的作用的理解，例如格陵兰海暖流的增加，将影响能量流向上层营养捕食者，如小海雀。这些结果将有助于预测北极海洋捕食者对气候变化的反应。这项研究是基于早些时候的一个项目，在该项目中，法国、挪威和波兰的合作者在2005年夏天参与了第一个关于小海雀的多地点研究。这项拟议的研究还将有助于正在进行的国际努力，调查海洋条件对北极小海雀的影响。2006年，合作机构将主要是CEPE-CNRS和法国极地研究所，以及波兰科学院和挪威极地研究所。在2004至2005年间，将领导这项研究的格陵兰实地部分的研究助理与东格陵兰岛小奥克殖民地附近的因纽特人社区建立了良好的工作关系。她参观了这所学校，向学生们发表了讲话，来自Ittoqortoormiit的学童将在2006年的田野季节期间访问该地点，观察并参与Little Auk的研究。此外，高级学生将接受培训，继续在该群体中长期监测有颜色标记的鸟类。来自首席调查员所在机构的学生将接受研究中使用的所有技术的培训，并将在那里进行他们自己的研究项目。这项研究的结果将发表在科学期刊上，并在科学会议上公布。

P.I.: Karnovsky Proposal Number: ARC-0612504 Little Auks (Alle alle) are small planktivorous seabirds that migrate to the high Arctic to breed along the eastern shores of Greenland and the western shores of Spitsbergen and to feed in the Greenland Sea. The Greenland Sea is characterized by contrasting currents that originate from either the Arctic Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore the Little Auks foraging along the East coast of Greenland, forage in cold, Arctic water, and are able to find large, lipid-rich copepods that came from the Arctic Ocean (Calanus hyperboreus). Little Auks finding food close to their colonies on the southwestern side of Spitsbergen, forage in water that has been influenced by warmer Atlantic water. They consume the smaller, less energy-rich copepod, Calanus glacialis. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact that these contrasting oceanographic regimes have on the foraging and reproductive behavior of Little Auks.In particular, these scientists will test hypotheses based the prey that are available in the different environments, because prey that Little Auks from the two regions bring back to their chicks will differ in species composition and energetic content. They also hypothesize that Spitsbergen chicks will grow slower and will fledge at lower weights than Greenland chicks, and that reproductive success and adult survival will be higher in Greenland birds than in Spitsbergen birds. Little Auks provide an excellent opportunity to directly observe the influence of contrasting foraging conditions on the same species of bird. Understanding the responses of Little Auks to the water masses adjacent to their colonies will increase the understanding of the roles of perturbations, such as increases in warmer currents in the Greenland Sea, will impact energy flow to upper trophic predators such as the Little Auk. These results will be useful in making predictions about responses of Arctic marine predators to changes in climate. This study is based on an earlier project where French, Norwegian, and Polish collaborators participated in the first multi-site study of Little Auks during the summer of 2005. This proposed study will also contribute to the ongoing international effort investigating the influence of oceanographic conditions on Little Auks in the Arctic. In 2006, collaborating institutions will be primarily CEPE-CNRS and the French Polar Institute as well as the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Norwegian Polar Institute. During 2004 and 2005, the research associate who will lead the Greenland field component of this study, established an excellent working relationship with the Inuit community near the Little Auk colony in East Greenland. She has visited the school to speak to the pupils, and school children from Ittoqqortoormiit will visit the site to observe and participate in the Little Auk research during the 2006 field season. In addition, advanced students will be trained to continue the long term monitoring of the color-marked birds at the colony. Students from the Principle Investigator's home institution will be trained in all of the techniques used in the study and will conduct their own research projects while there. The results of this study will be published in scientific journals and presented at scientific meetings.