Arctic seabird food chains explored by fatty acid composition and stable isotopes in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard |
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Authors: | Anette Wold Iris J?ger Haakon Hop Geir Wing Gabrielsen Stig Falk-Petersen |
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Institution: | (1) Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, 9296 Troms?, Norway;(2) Akvaplan-niva, Fram Centre, 9296 Troms?, Norway;(3) Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, University of Troms?, 9037 Troms?, Norway |
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Abstract: | Marine birds are important predators in the marine ecosystem, and dietary studies can give useful information about their
feeding ecology, food webs and oceanographic variability. The aim of this study was to increase our understanding of the diet
and trophic level of the seabirds breeding in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. We have used fatty acids and stable isotopes, both of
which integrate diet information over space and time, to determine trophic relationships in marine food webs. Fatty acid compositions
of muscle from Little auk (Alle alle), Brünnich’s guillemot (Uria lomvia), Black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), Northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) and Glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) were determined and compared with their prey species. Canonical analysis (CA) showed that fatty acid composition differed
among the five seabird species. Little auk, Black-legged kittiwake and Northern fulmar had high levels of the Calanus markers 20:1n9 and 22:1, indicating that these seabirds are a part of the Calanus food chain. Brünnich’s guillemot differed from the other species with much lower levels of 20:1n9 and 22:1. Brünnich’s guillemot
is a pursuit diver feeding on fish and amphipods deeper in the water column, below 30 m. Glaucous gull also differed from
the other seabird species, with a larger variation in the fatty acid composition indicating a more diverse diet. Trophic level
analysis placed Little auk at the lowest trophic level, Brünnich’s guillemot and Black-legged kittiwake at intermediate levels
and Glaucous gull and Northern fulmar at the highest trophic level. |
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