ARCTIC AUKS

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.

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, C. 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. 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 allow us to understand how 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.