Assessing regional populations of ground-nesting marine birds in the Canadian High Arctic

Polar research

Shanti E. Davis¹  Mark Maftei³  Mark L. Mallory³ 

[1] Department of BiologyMemorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland A1C 5S7, Canada;Department of BiologyAcadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia B4P 2R6, CanadaCorrespondence;High Arctic Gull Research GroupBamfield, British Columbia V0R 1B0, Canada

关键词: Ground-nesting;    seabirds;    High Arctic;    Nunavut;    common eider;    Arctic tern.;   

DOI  :  10.3402/polar.v34.25055

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

来源: Co-Action Publishing

【 摘 要 】

The Queens Channel region of Nunavut is an ecologically distinct area within the Canadian High Arctic consisting of an extensive archipelago of small, low-lying gravel islands throughout which form several localized but highly productive polynyas. We used aerial survey and colony-monitoring data to assess regional- and colony-level fluctuations in the number of birds in this region between 2002 and 2013. Regional and colony-specific monitoring suggested that common eider (Somateria mollissima) numbers are increasing, while numbers of Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) may be in decline. Based on these data, we suggest that even infrequent comprehensive surveys are more useful than annual monitoring at specific sites in generating an accurate assessment of ground-nesting seabird populations at the regional level, and that dramatic fluctuations at individual colonies probably belie the overall stability of regional populations.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC