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 Authors:
Lars Nersveen1, Fredrik Haug2, Vegard Thorset V åge3, Monica Hall4 ;
1University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, 2University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway, 3Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, 4University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA.
Originally Presented at:
IPY Polar Field School, Longyearben, Svalbard, Norway. 2 July 2009.
Little auks (Alle alle) are planktivorous alcids that are abundant on the western coast of Svalbard. Their diet consists mainly of three species of copepods: Calanus finmarchicus, C. glacialis and C. hyperboreus. They selectively feed on the most lipid rich copepods, which are most prevalent in cold, saline Arctic water. Climate models predict a larger influx of warmer, fresher Atlantic water to Isfjorden, advecting the less lipid rich C. finmarchicus into the area. This trend is not favorable to the little auks, which already undetake flights of more than five hours to reach the continental shelf where the lipid-rich Arctic species C.hyperboreus is a common prey item (Steen, 2007). This study investigates the available prey for little auks outside the Bjørndalen bird cliffs as seen on June 23, 2009. Population characteristics and CTD measurements were compared to a July 25, 2005 survey (Steen, 2007) to determine any difference in feeding conditions. This study also verifies the correlation between Calanus spp. development stage and the size of their lipid sac.
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