Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted ascending) Filter | PMID Filter |
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| perfluorinated sulfonate and carboxylate compounds in eggs of seabirds breeding in the canadian arctic: temporal trends (1975-2011) and interspecies comparison. | perfluorinated sulfonates (pfsas) and perfluorinated carboxylates (pfcas), as well as selected precursor compounds, were measured in eggs of thick-billed murres (uria lomvia) and northern fulmars (fulmarus glacialis) from prince leopold island in the canadian arctic between 1975 and 2011 as well as in eggs of three additional species (black guillemot cepphus grylle, black-legged kittiwake rissa tridactyla, glaucous gull larus hyperboreus) sampled in 2008. σpfca concentrations increased significa ... | 2013 | 23215357 |
| estimating transitions between states using measurements with imperfect detection: application to serological data. | classifying the states of an individual and quantifying transitions between states are crucial while modeling animal behavior, movement, and physiologic status. when these states are hidden or imperfectly known, it is particularly convenient to relate them to appropriate quantitative measurements taken on the individual. this task is, however, challenging when quantitative measurements are not available at each sampling occasion. for capture-recapture data, various ways of incorporating such non ... | 2013 | 24358701 |
| variation in energy expenditure among black-legged kittiwakes: effects of activity-specific metabolic rates and activity budgets. | we sought to determine the effect of variation in time-activity budgets (tabs) and foraging behavior on energy expenditure rates of parent black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla). we quantified tabs using direct observations of radio-tagged adults and simultaneously measured field metabolic rates (fmr) of these same individuals (n=20) using the doubly labeled water technique. estimated metabolic rates of kittiwakes attending their brood at the nest or loafing near the colony were similar (ca. ... | 2013 | 12905124 |
| differential reproductive responses to stress reveal the role of life-history strategies within a species. | life-history strategies describe that 'slow'- in contrast to 'fast'-living species allocate resources cautiously towards reproduction to enhance survival. recent evidence suggests that variation in strategies exists not only among species but also among populations of the same species. here, we examined the effect of experimentally induced stress on resource allocation of breeding seabirds in two populations with contrasting life-history strategies: slow-living pacific and fast-living atlantic b ... | 2013 | 24089339 |
| thyroid hormones correlate with resting metabolic rate, not daily energy expenditure, in two charadriiform seabirds. | thyroid hormones affect in vitro metabolic intensity, increase basal metabolic rate (bmr) in the lab, and are sometimes correlated with basal and/or resting metabolic rate (rmr) in a field environment. given the difficulty of measuring metabolic rate in the field-and the likelihood that capture and long-term restraint necessary to measure metabolic rate in the field jeopardizes other measurements-we examined the possibility that circulating thyroid hormone levels were correlated with rmr in two ... | 2013 | 23789108 |
| to breed or not to breed: endocrine response to mercury contamination by an arctic seabird. | mercury, a ubiquitous toxic element, is known to alter expression of sex steroids and to impair reproduction across vertebrates but the mechanisms underlying these effects are not clearly identified. we examined whether contamination by mercury predicts the probability to skip reproduction in black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) from svalbard. we also manipulated the endocrine system to investigate the mechanism underlying this relationship. during the pre-laying period, we injected exogen ... | 2013 | 23720523 |
| effects of food availability on yolk androgen deposition in the black-legged kittiwake (rissa tridactyla), a seabird with facultative brood reduction. | in birds with facultative brood reduction, survival of the junior chick is thought to be regulated primarily by food availability. in black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) where parents and chicks are provided with unlimited access to supplemental food during the breeding season, brood reduction still occurs and varies interannually. survival of the junior chick is therefore affected by factors in addition to the amount of food directly available to them. maternally deposited yolk androgens ... | 2013 | 23675443 |
| food availability affects onset of reproduction in a long-lived seabird. | life-history theory predicts that suboptimal developmental conditions may lead to faster life histories (younger age at recruitment and higher reproductive investment), but experimental testing of this prediction is still scarce in long-lived species. we report the effects of an experimental manipulation of food availability during early development and at recruitment on the onset of reproduction and reproductive performance (productivity at first breeding) in a long-lived seabird, the black-leg ... | 2013 | 23576791 |
| age-related differences in the cloacal microbiota of a wild bird species. | gastrointestinal bacteria play a central role in the health of animals. the bacteria that individuals acquire as they age may therefore have profound consequences for their future fitness. however, changes in microbial community structure with host age remain poorly understood. we characterised the cloacal bacteria assemblages of chicks and adults in a natural population of black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla), using molecular methods. | 2013 | 23531085 |
| thyroid hormones correlate with basal metabolic rate but not field metabolic rate in a wild bird species. | thyroid hormones (th) are known to stimulate in vitro oxygen consumption of tissues in mammals and birds. hence, in many laboratory studies a positive relationship between th concentrations and basal metabolic rate (bmr) has been demonstrated whereas evidence from species in the wild is scarce. even though basal and field metabolic rates (fmr) are often thought to be intrinsically linked it is still unknown whether a relationship between th and fmr exists. here we determine the relationship betw ... | 2013 | 23437096 |
| individual variation in field metabolic rate of kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) during the chick-rearing period. | field metabolic rate (fmr), using the doubly labelled water (dlw) method, was measured in free-ranging adult kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) early and late in the chick-rearing period at svalbard, norway. individual variation in fmr was analysed by comparing fmr with body mass, sex, nest attendance, chick age, brood size, and basal metabolic rate (bmr). mean fmr of kittiwakes during the chick-rearing period was 27.0+/-0.9 (se) w kg(-1), while the individual variation (calculated as coefficient of ... | 2013 | 11331506 |
| windscapes shape seabird instantaneous energy costs but adult behavior buffers impact on offspring. | windscapes affect energy costs for flying animals, but animals can adjust their behavior to accommodate wind-induced energy costs. theory predicts that flying animals should decrease air speed to compensate for increased tailwind speed and increase air speed to compensate for increased crosswind speed. in addition, animals are expected to vary their foraging effort in time and space to maximize energy efficiency across variable windscapes. | 2014 | 26019870 |
| the prudent parent meets old age: a high stress response in very old seabirds supports the terminal restraint hypothesis. | the reproductive success of wild animals usually increases with age before declining at the end of life, but the proximate mechanisms underlying those patterns remain elusive. young animals are expected to invest less in current reproduction due to high prospects for future reproduction (the "restraint" hypothesis). the oldest animals may also show restraint when conditions are sub-optimal where even a small increase in reproductive investment may lead to death ("terminal restraint"). alternativ ... | 2014 | 25448533 |
| persistent organic pollutant concentrations in fledglings of two arctic seabird species. | persistent organic pollutants (pops) and stable isotopes were measured in muscle from fledglings of two arctic seabird species, northern fulmar (fulmarus glacialis) and black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla). the purpose was to compare pop concentrations between species, in an age class that is highly vulnerable to pops but little studied, relate to diet using stable isotopes, and quantify differences across life stages (egg to adult). northern fulmar fledglings had significantly higher pop ... | 2014 | 24121265 |
| inter- and intra-year variation in foraging areas of breeding kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla). | while seabird conservation efforts have largely focused on protection from threats at the colony (e.g. reducing disturbance and predation), attention is increasingly being given to implementing protection measures for foraging areas at sea. for this to be effective, important foraging areas must be identified. although numerous studies have examined seabird foraging behaviour, information is still lacking on the variability in area utilisation within and among breeding seasons. gps devices were ... | 2014 | 25170176 |
| foraging responses of black-legged kittiwakes to prolonged food-shortages around colonies on the bering sea shelf. | we hypothesized that changes in southeastern bering sea foraging conditions for black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) have caused shifts in habitat use with direct implications for population trends. to test this, we compared at-sea distribution, breeding performance, and nutritional stress of kittiwakes in three years (2008-2010) at two sites in the pribilof islands, where the population has either declined (st. paul) or remained stable (st. george). foraging conditions were assessed from ... | 2014 | 24671108 |
| the stress of being contaminated? adrenocortical function and reproduction in relation to persistent organic pollutants in female black legged kittiwakes. | high levels of environmental pollutants such as persistent organic pollutants (pops) including pcb and ddt have been found in the arctic and many of those pollutants may impair reproduction through endocrine disruption. nevertheless, their effects on stress hormones remain poorly understood, especially in free-ranging birds. corticosterone, the principal glucocorticoid in birds, can indirectly impair reproduction. the aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between pops and rep ... | 2014 | 24496028 |
| physiological and fitness correlates of experimentally altered hatching asynchrony magnitude in chicks of a wild seabird. | nest-bound chicks depend entirely on their parents for food, often leading to high sibling competition. asynchronous hatching, resulting from the onset of incubation before clutch completion, facilitates the establishment of within-nest hierarchy, with younger chicks being subject to lower feeding and growth rates. because social and nutritional stresses affect baseline stress hormone levels in birds, younger chicks are expected to have higher levels of corticosterone than their siblings. as pre ... | 2014 | 24380674 |
| preen secretions encode information on mhc similarity in certain sex-dyads in a monogamous seabird. | animals are known to select mates to maximize the genetic diversity of their offspring in order to achieve immunity against a broader range of pathogens. although several bird species preferentially mate with partners that are dissimilar at the major histocompatibility complex (mhc), it remains unknown whether they can use olfactory cues to assess mhc similarity with potential partners. here we combined gas chromatography data with genetic similarity indices based on mhc to test whether similari ... | 2014 | 25370306 |
| endocrine and fitness correlates of long-chain perfluorinated carboxylates exposure in arctic breeding black-legged kittiwakes. | increasing levels of poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (pfass) have recently been described in arctic biota. these emerging substances are of concern given their resistance to degradation and metabolization. some studies have reported endocrine disrupting effects for some pfass. however, there is a gap of knowledge on the potential relationships between pfass and hormones mediating the life-history trade-off between reproduction and survival, such as glucocorticoids. the aims of this stu ... | 2014 | 25369114 |
| an experimental test of host specialization in a ubiquitous polar ectoparasite: a role for adaptation? | the evolution of host specificity is considered to be an essential mechanism driving parasite diversity. it may be governed by adaptive constraints that lead to host-dependent fitness trade-offs. alternatively, specificity may arise via transmission constraints that isolate parasite populations, without necessarily involving adaptation per se. here, we ask whether the repeated observation of host-associated genetic races across the worldwide distribution of the seabird ectoparasite ixodes uriae ... | 2014 | 24467400 |
| migration and stress during reproduction govern telomere dynamics in a seabird. | changes in telomere length are believed to reflect changes in physiological state and life expectancy in animals. however, much remains unknown about the determinants of telomere dynamics in wild populations, and specifically the influence of conditions during highly mobile life-history stages, for example migration. we tested whether telomere dynamics were associated with migratory behaviour and/or with stress during reproduction in free-living seabirds. we induced short-term stress during repr ... | 2014 | 24429681 |
| integument colouration in relation to persistent organic pollutants and body condition in arctic breeding black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla). | vertebrates cannot synthetize carotenoids de novo but have to acquire them through their diet. in birds, carotenoids are responsible for the yellow to red colouration of many secondary sexual traits. they are also involved in physiological functions such as immunostimulation and immunoregulation. consequently, carotenoid-based colouration is very often considered as a reliable signal for health and foraging abilities. although a few studies have suggested that carotenoid-based coloured traits co ... | 2014 | 24140695 |
| temporal dynamics of top predators interactions in the barents sea. | the barents sea system is often depicted as a simple food web in terms of number of dominant feeding links. the most conspicuous feeding link is between the northeast arctic cod gadus morhua, the world's largest cod stock which is presently at a historical high level, and capelin mallotus villosus. the system also holds diverse seabird and marine mammal communities. previous diet studies may suggest that these top predators (cod, bird and sea mammals) compete for food particularly with respect t ... | 2014 | 25365430 |
| relationships between persistent organic pollutants and circulating immunoglobulin-y in black-legged kittiwakes and atlantic puffins. | have although persistent organic pollutants (pops) may affect the immune system, few field studies actually examined this effect. there are indications that pop exert effects on the immune system; however, in the arctic ecosystem data are scarce. the aim of this study was to examine immune functions in two medium trophic-positioned seabirds, the black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) and atlantic puffins (fratercula arctica). overall pop concentrations were higher in kittiwakes than puffins ... | 2014 | 24754386 |
| evaluation of seabirds in newfoundland and labrador, canada, as hosts of influenza a viruses. | influenza a viruses infect a wide range of hosts, including many species of birds. avian influenza a virus (aiv) infection appears to be most common in anseriformes (ducks, geese, and swans) and some charadriiformes (shorebirds and gulls), but many other birds also serve as hosts of aiv. here, we evaluated the role of seabirds as hosts for aiv. we tested 3,160 swab samples from 13 seabird species between may 2008 and december 2011 in newfoundland and labrador, canada. we also tested 156 serum sa ... | 2014 | 24171570 |
| trends of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and hexabromocyclododecane in eggs of canadian arctic seabirds reflect changing use patterns. | due to the substantial use and release of polybrominated diphenyl ether (pbde) flame retardants in north america, pbde concentrations in north american marine biota are among the highest in the world. in this study, we compared pbde concentrations and congener patterns in eggs of five seabird species (thick-billed murres, northern fulmars, black guillemots, glaucous gulls, black-legged kittiwakes) breeding at a colony in the canadian arctic in 1993, 2008 and 2013. temporal trends of pbdes (1975- ... | 2015 | 26342589 |
| effect of diet, location and sampling year on bioaccumulation of mercury, selenium and cadmium in pelagic feeding seabirds in svalbard. | hepatic concentrations of mercury (hg), selenium (se) and cadmium (cd) were determined in black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) and little auks (alle alle) from two fjords in svalbard (kongsfjorden; 78°57'n, 12°12'e and liefdefjorden; 79°37'n, 13°20'e). the inflow of arctic and atlantic water differs between the two fjords, potentially affecting element accumulation. trophic positions (tp) were derived from stable nitrogen isotope ratios (δ(15)n), and stable carbon isotope ratios (δ(13)c) w ... | 2015 | 25441931 |
| wintering north pacific black-legged kittiwakes balance spatial flexibility and consistency. | marine environments are inherently dynamic, yet marine predators are often long-lived and employ strategies where consistency, individual specialization, routine migrations, and spatial memory are key components to their foraging and life-history strategies. intrinsic determinates of animal movements are linked to physiological and life-history traits (e.g. sex, colony, experience), while extrinsic influences occur as the result of an animal's interactions with either other animals or the enviro ... | 2015 | 26500778 |
| increased adrenal responsiveness and delayed hatching date in relation to polychlorinated biphenyl exposure in arctic-breeding black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla). | high levels of environmental contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs), organochlorine pesticides (ocps) and mercury (hg) have been reported in some arctic top predators such as seabirds. chronic exposure to these contaminants might alter the response to environmental changes through interference with the regulation of corticosterone (cort), a glucocorticoid stress hormone released by the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (hpa) axis. positive and negative relationships between cort and e ... | 2015 | 25796954 |
| survival rate and breeding outputs in a high arctic seabird exposed to legacy persistent organic pollutants and mercury. | chronic exposure to pollutants may represent a threat for wildlife. we tested whether adult survival rate, breeding probability and breeding success the year of sampling and the following year were affected by blood levels of mercury or persistent organic pollutants in svalbard black-legged kittiwake rissa tridactyla, by using capture-mark-recapture models over a five-year period. survival rate was negatively linked to hcb levels in females, to chlordane mixture and oxychlordane, tended to decre ... | 2015 | 25686882 |
| protracted treatment with corticosterone reduces breeding success in a long-lived bird. | determining the physiological mechanisms underpinning life-history decisions is essential for understanding the constraints under which life-history strategies can evolve. in long-lived species, where the residual reproductive value of breeders is high, adult survival is a key contributor to lifetime reproductive success. we therefore expect that when adult survival is compromised during reproduction, mechanisms will evolve to redirect resources away from reproduction, with implications for repr ... | 2015 | 25449182 |
| toxic and essential elements changed in black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) during their stay in an arctic breeding area. | seasonal fluctuations in mercury (hg), cadmium (cd), zinc (zn), copper (cu) and selenium (se) concentrations were studied in black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) from kongsfjorden, svalbard (79°57'n, 12°12'e). element concentrations were determined in muscle and liver tissue in kittiwakes collected in may, july and october 2007. stable isotopes of carbon (δ(13)c) and nitrogen (δ(15)n) were analysed in muscle tissue to calculate trophic position (tp) and examine the possible influence of ca ... | 2015 | 25300019 |
| carry-over effects of food supplementation on recruitment and breeding performance of long-lived seabirds. | supplementation of food to wild animals is extensively applied as a conservation tool to increase local production of young. however, in long-lived migratory animals, the carry-over effects of food supplementation early in life on the subsequent recruitment of individuals into natal populations and their lifetime reproductive success are largely unknown. we examine how experimental food supplementation early in life affects: (i) recruitment as breeders of kittiwakes rissa tridactyla born in a co ... | 2015 | 26180065 |
| exposure to oxychlordane is associated with shorter telomeres in arctic breeding kittiwakes. | telomeres are dna-protein complexes located at the end of chromosomes, which play an important role in maintaining the genomic integrity. telomeres shorten at each cell division and previous studies have shown that telomere length is related to health and lifespan and can be affected by a wide range of environmental factors. among them, some persistent organic pollutants (pops) have the potential to damage dna. however, the effect of pops on telomeres is poorly known for wildlife. here, we inves ... | 2016 | 27135574 |
| maternal effects as drivers of sibling competition in a parent-offspring conflict context? an experimental test. | maternal effects occur when the mother's phenotype influences her offspring's phenotype. in birds, differential allocation in egg yolk components can allow mothers to compensate for the competitive disadvantage of junior chicks. we hypothesize that the parent-older chick conflict peaks at intermediate conditions: parents benefit from the younger chick(s) survival, but its death benefits the older chick in terms of growth and survival. we thus expect maternal compensation to follow a bell-shaped ... | 2016 | 28725354 |
| [characteristics of protein hydrolysis on the digestive-transport surfaces of the intestine of the kittiwake rissa tridactyla and alcataenia larina (cestoda, dilepididae) parasitizing it]. | investigation of the activity of proteolytic enzymes functioning on the digestive-transport surfaces of the intestine of infected and noninfected kittiwakes rissa tridactyla and cestodes alcataenia larina (cestoda, dilepididae) parasitizing it was conducted. the protease activities depending on the ph values in the intestine of gulls and tapeworms were determined. the dynamics of desorption of enzymes of protein hydrolysis from the surface of the cestodes a. larina and the kittiwake intestine wa ... | 2016 | 22117422 |
| temporal trends of mercury in eggs of five sympatrically breeding seabird species in the canadian arctic. | we compared temporal trends of total mercury (hg) in eggs of five seabird species breeding at prince leopold island in the canadian high arctic. as changes in trophic position over time have the potential to influence contaminant temporal trends, hg concentrations were adjusted for trophic position (measured as δ(15)n). adjusted hg concentrations in eggs of thick-billed murres (uria lomvia) and northern fulmars (fulmarus glacialis) increased from 1975 to the 1990s, followed by a plateauing of le ... | 2016 | 27074200 |
| a pelagic outbreak of avian cholera in north american gulls: scavenging as a primary mechanism for transmission? | avian cholera, caused by the bacterium pasteurella multocida , is an endemic disease globally, often causing annual epizootics in north american wild bird populations with thousands of mortalities. from december 2006 to march 2007, an avian cholera outbreak caused mortality in marine birds off the coast of atlantic canada, largely centered 300-400 km off the coast of the island of newfoundland. scavenging gulls ( larus spp.) were the primary species detected; however, mortality was also identifi ... | 2016 | 27455197 |
| differential responses of arctic vegetation to nutrient enrichment by plankton- and fish-eating colonial seabirds in spitsbergen. | the role of seabirds as sea-land biovectors of nutrients is well documented. however, no studies have examined whether and how colonial seabirds that differ in diet may influence terrestrial vegetation. therefore, the purpose of the study was to describe and compare plant communities located in the vicinity of the two most common types of seabird colonies in arctic, occupied by piscivorous or planktivorous species. within 46 plots arranged in four transects in the vicinity of planktivorous (litt ... | 2016 | 28083002 |
| low density of top predators (seabirds and marine mammals) in the high arctic pack ice. | the at-sea distribution of top predators, seabirds and marine mammals, was determined in the high arctic pack ice on board the icebreaker rv polarstern in july to september 2014. in total, 1,620 transect counts were realised, lasting 30 min each. the five most numerous seabird species represented 74% of the total of 15,150 individuals registered: kittiwake rissa tridactyla, fulmar fulmarus glacialis, puffin fratercula arctica, ross's gull rhodostethia rosea, and little auk alle alle. eight cetac ... | 2016 | 27777810 |
| levels of ingested debris vary across species in canadian arctic seabirds. | plastic debris has become a major pollutant in the world's oceans and is found in many seabird species from low to high latitudes. here we compare levels of plastic ingestion from two surface feeders, northern fulmars (fulmarus glacialis) and black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla), and two pursuit diving species, thick-billed murres (uria lomvia) and black guillemots (cepphus grylle) in the canadian high arctic. this is the first report quantifying plastic ingestion in kittiwakes in this reg ... | 2017 | 28069276 |
| breeding density, fine-scale tracking, and large-scale modeling reveal the regional distribution of four seabird species. | population-level estimates of species' distributions can reveal fundamental ecological processes and facilitate conservation. however, these may be difficult to obtain for mobile species, especially colonial central-place foragers (ccpfs; e.g., bats, corvids, social insects), because it is often impractical to determine the provenance of individuals observed beyond breeding sites. moreover, some ccpfs, especially in the marine realm (e.g., pinnipeds, turtles, and seabirds) are difficult to obser ... | 2017 | 28653410 |
| perfluorinated substances and telomeres in an arctic seabird: cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches. | telomeres are non-coding dna repeats located at the termini of eukaryotic chromosomes, regulated by dynamic processes balancing shortening and maintenance. despite a mechanism to slow-down telomere shortening, cell division leads to progressive attrition of chromosomes, leading to the onset of cellular senescence or apoptosis. however, telomere restoration based on telomerase activity is the primary mechanism for telomere maintenance. telomere length is associated to health and survival and can ... | 2017 | 28672148 |
| contaminants and energy expenditure in an arctic seabird: organochlorine pesticides and perfluoroalkyl substances are associated with metabolic rate in a contrasted manner. | basal metabolic rate (bmr), the minimal energetic cost of living in endotherms, is known to be influenced by thyroid hormones (ths) which are known to stimulate in vitro oxygen consumption of tissues in birds and mammals. several environmental contaminants may act on energy expenditure through their thyroid hormone-disrupting properties. however, the effect of contaminants on bmr is still poorly documented for wildlife. here, we investigated the relationships between three groups of contaminants ... | 2017 | 28554005 |
| circumpolar dynamics of a marine top-predator track ocean warming rates. | global warming is a nonlinear process, and temperature may increase in a stepwise manner. periods of abrupt warming can trigger persistent changes in the state of ecosystems, also called regime shifts. the responses of organisms to abrupt warming and associated regime shifts can be unlike responses to periods of slow or moderate change. understanding of nonlinearity in the biological responses to climate warming is needed to assess the consequences of ongoing climate change. here, we demonstrate ... | 2017 | 28387042 |
| effects of developmental conditions on growth, stress and telomeres in black-legged kittiwake chicks. | early-life conditions can drive ageing patterns and life history strategies throughout the lifespan. certain social, genetic and nutritional developmental conditions are more likely to produce high-quality offspring: those with good likelihood of recruitment and productivity. here, we call such conditions "favoured states" and explore their relationship with physiological variables during development in a long-lived seabird, the black-legged kittiwake (rissa tridactyla). two favoured states were ... | 2017 | 28370751 |
| subglacial discharges create fluctuating foraging hotspots for sea birds in tidewater glacier bays. | although the processes occurring at the front of an ice face in tidewater glacier bays still await thorough investigation, their importance to the rapidly changing polar environment is spurring a considerable research effort. glacier melting, sediment delivery and the formation of seabird foraging hotspots are governed by subglacial discharges of meltwater. we have combined the results of tracking black-legged kittiwakes rissa tridactyla equipped with gps loggers, analyses of satellite images an ... | 2017 | 28266602 |
| temporal variation in circulating concentrations of organochlorine pollutants in a pelagic seabird breeding in the high arctic. | the present study explored short-term temporal variations in circulating concentrations of 3 legacy organochlorines with different physicochemical properties (polychlorinated biphenyl 153 [pcb-153], p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene [dde], and hexachlorobenzene [hcb]) in breeding kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) in a colony in svalbard (78°n), norwegian arctic. concentrations were measured in blood of a large number (n = 412-521 blood samples, depending on the data analyses) of prebreeding, inc ... | 2017 | 27431537 |
| opportunistic sampling to quantify plastics in the diet of unfledged black legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla), northern fulmars (fulmarus glacialis) and great cormorants (phalacrocorax carbo). | seabirds can interact with marine litter, mainly by entanglement or ingestion. the ingestion of plastics can lead to starvation or physical damage to the digestive tract. for chicks, it could additionally lead to reduced growth, affecting survival and fledging. this study quantified the ingestion of plastics by seabird chicks via an opportunistic sampling strategy. when ringing is carried out at colonies, birds may spontaneously regurgitate their stomach contents due to the stress or as a defenc ... | 2017 | 28431743 |
| dna damage in arctic seabirds: baseline, sensitivity to a genotoxic stressor, and association with organohalogen contaminants. | environmental contaminants are found throughout arctic marine ecosystems, and their presence in seabirds has been associated with toxicological responses. however, there are few studies of genotoxicity in arctic avian wildlife. the purpose of the present study was to quantify deoxyribonucleic acid (dna) damage in lymphocytes of selected seabird species and to examine whether accumulation of organohalogen contaminants (σohcs) affects dna damage. blood was sampled from common eider (somateria moll ... | 2017 | 29120089 |
| bayesian joint models with inla exploring marine mobile predator-prey and competitor species habitat overlap. | understanding spatial physical habitat selection driven by competition and/or predator-prey interactions of mobile marine species is a fundamental goal of spatial ecology. however, spatial counts or density data for highly mobile animals often (1) include excess zeros, (2) have spatial correlation, and (3) have highly nonlinear relationships with physical habitat variables, which results in the need for complex joint spatial models. in this paper, we test the use of bayesian hierarchical hurdle ... | 2017 | 29242741 |
| seabirds and marine plastic debris in the northeastern atlantic: a synthesis and recommendations for monitoring and research. | marine plastic pollution is an increasing, and global, environmental issue. numerous marine species are affected by plastic debris through entanglement, nest incorporation, and ingestion, which can lead to lethal and sub-lethal impacts. however, in the northeastern atlantic ocean, an area of international importance for seabirds, there has been little effort to date to assess information from studies of wildlife and plastic to better understand the spatiotemporal variation of how marine plastic ... | 2017 | 28917819 |
| persistent organic pollutants and organophosphate esters in feathers and blood plasma of adult kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) from svalbard - associations with body condition and thyroid hormones. | polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes), organochlorine pesticides (ocps) and organophosphate esters (opes) were assessed in blood plasma and feathers of 19 adult black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) breeding in two colonies (blomstrandhalvøya and krykkjefjellet) at the arctic archipelago, svalbard. potential associations with body condition index (bci) and thyroid hormones were investigated. all compound classes were detected in both blood plasma and feath ... | 2018 | 29499468 |
| taking a trip to the shelf: behavioral decisions are mediated by the proximity to foraging habitats in the black-legged kittiwake. | for marine top predators like seabirds, the oceans represent a multitude of habitats regarding oceanographic conditions and food availability. worldwide, these marine habitats are being altered by changes in climate and increased anthropogenic impact. this is causing a growing concern on how seabird populations might adapt to these changes. understanding how seabird populations respond to fluctuating environmental conditions and to what extent behavioral flexibility can buffer variations in food ... | 2018 | 29375761 |
| black-legged kittiwakes as messengers of atlantification in the arctic. | climate warming is rapidly altering marine ecosystems towards a more temperate state on the european side of the arctic. however, this "atlantification" has rarely been confirmed, as long-term datasets on arctic marine organisms are scarce. we present a 19-year time series (1982-2016) of diet samples from black-legged kittiwakes as an indicator of the changes in a high arctic marine ecosystem (kongsfjorden, svalbard). our results highlight a shift from arctic prey dominance until 2006 to a more ... | 2018 | 29352216 |
| antibiotic-resistant escherichia coli in migratory birds inhabiting remote alaska. | we explored the abundance of antibiotic-resistant escherichia coli among migratory birds at remote sites in alaska and used a comparative approach to speculate on plausible explanations for differences in detection among species. at a remote island site, we detected antibiotic-resistant e. coli phenotypes in samples collected from glaucous-winged gulls (larus glaucescens), a species often associated with foraging at landfills, but not in samples collected from black-legged kittiwakes (rissa trid ... | 2018 | 29230612 |
| comparing marine distribution maps for seabirds during the breeding season derived from different survey and analysis methods. | understanding how seabirds use the marine environment is key for marine spatial planning, and maps of their marine distributions derived from transect-based surveys and from tracking of individual bird's movements are increasingly available for the same geographic areas. although the value of integrating these different datasets is well recognised, few studies have undertaken quantitative comparisons of the resulting distributions. here we take advantage of four existing distribution maps and co ... | 2018 | 30157191 |
| combined bottom-up and top-down pressures drive catastrophic population declines of arctic skuas in scotland. | understanding drivers of population change is critical for effective species conservation. in the northeast atlantic ocean, recent changes amongst seabird communities are linked to human and climate change impacts on food webs. many species have declined severely, with food shortages, and increased predation reducing productivity. arctic skua stercorarius parasiticus, a kleptoparasite of other seabirds, is one such species. the aim of the study was to determine relative effects of bottom-up and ... | 2018 | 30155905 |
| utility of time-lapse photography in studies of seabird ecology. | marine ecosystems are heavily influenced by a wide range of human-related impacts, and thus monitoring is essential to preserve and manage these sensitive habitats. seabirds are considered important bioindicators of the oceans, but accessing breeding populations can be difficult, expensive and time consuming. new technologies have been employed to facilitate data collection on seabirds that can reduce costs and minimize disturbance. among these, the use of time-lapse photography is a potentially ... | 2018 | 30540854 |
| organochlorines, perfluoroalkyl substances, mercury, and egg incubation temperature in an arctic seabird: insights from data loggers. | in birds, incubation-related behaviors and brood patch formation are influenced by hormonal regulation such as prolactin secretion. brood patch provides efficient heat transfer between the incubating parent and the developing embryo in the egg. importantly, several environmental contaminants are already known to have adverse effects on avian reproduction. however, relatively little is known about the effect of contaminants on incubation temperature (tinc ) in wild birds. by using temperature the ... | 2018 | 30094864 |
| pluck or luck: does trait variation or chance drive variation in lifetime reproductive success? | while there has been extensive interest in how intraspecific trait variation affects ecological processes, outcomes are highly variable even when individuals are identical: some are lucky, while others are not. trait variation is therefore important only if it adds substantially to the variability produced by luck. we ask when trait variation has a substantial effect on variability in lifetime reproductive success (lrs), using two approaches: (1) we partition the variation in lrs into contributi ... | 2018 | 29570408 |
| red coloration varies with dietary carotenoid access and nutritional condition in kittiwakes. | carotenoid-based ornaments are common signaling features in animals. although the mechanisms that link color-based signals to individual condition is key to understanding the evolution and function of these ornaments, they are most often poorly known. several hypotheses have been posited. they include: (i) the role of foraging abilities on carotenoid acquisition and thereby carotenoid-based ornaments, and (ii) the role of internal processes linked to individual quality on the allocation and conv ... | 2019 | 31597729 |
| muscle fiber structure in an aging long-lived seabird, the black-legged kittiwake (rissa tridactyla). | many long-lived animals do not appear to show classic signs of aging, perhaps because they show negligible senescence until dying from "catastrophic" mortality. muscle senescence is seldom examined in wild animals, yet decline in muscle function is one of the first signs of aging in many lab animals and humans. seabirds are an excellent study system for physiological implications of aging because they are long-lived animals that actively forage and reproduce in the wild. here, we examined linkag ... | 2019 | 31077454 |
| occurrence of substituted diphenylamine antioxidants and benzotriazole uv stabilizers in arctic seabirds and seals. | substituted diphenylamine antioxidants (sdpas) and benzotriazole uv stabilizers (bzt-uvs) are contaminants of emerging environmental concern. however, little is known about the occurrence of these contaminants in the arctic. in this study, we investigated the levels of 11 sdpas and 6 bzt-uvs in livers and eggs of two seabird species, the black-legged kittiwake (rissa tridactyla) and northern fulmar (fulmarus glacialis), as well as the liver of ringed seals (pusa hispida) from canadian high- and ... | 2019 | 30739863 |
| new insight into avian papillomavirus ecology and evolution from characterization of novel wild bird papillomaviruses. | viruses in the family papillomaviridae have circular dsdna genomes of approximately 5.7-8.6 kb that are packaged within non-enveloped, icosahedral capsids. the known papillomavirus (pv) representatives infect vertebrates, and there are currently more than 130 recognized pv species in more than 50 genera. we identified 12 novel avian papillomavirus (apv) types in wild birds that could represent five distinct species and two genera. viruses were detected in paired oropharyngeal/cloacal swabs colle ... | 2019 | 31031718 |
| environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour. | environmental heterogeneity shapes the uneven distribution of resources available to foragers, and is ubiquitous in nature. optimal foraging theory predicts that an animal's ability to exploit resource patches is key to foraging success. however, the potential fitness costs and benefits of foraging in a heterogeneous environment are difficult to measure empirically. heterogeneity may provide higher-quality foraging opportunities, or alternatively could increase the cost of resource acquisition b ... | 2019 | 31161906 |
| temporal trends of legacy organochlorines in eggs of canadian arctic seabirds monitored over four decades. | we compared temporal trends of legacy organochlorine pesticides and pcbs in eggs of five seabird species breeding at prince leopold island in the canadian high arctic. concentrations of most of the major organochlorine groups/compounds have either declined (e.g. σ35pcb, σddt, σcbz, σchl, octachlorostyrene) or shown no consistent directional change (e.g. heptachlor epoxide) since 1975 in eggs of thick-billed murres (uria lomvia), northern fulmars (fulmarus glacialis) and black-legged kittiwakes ( ... | 2019 | 30059916 |
| higher plasma oxidative damage and lower plasma antioxidant defences in an arctic seabird exposed to longer perfluoroalkyl acids. | perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (pfass) may cause detrimental effects on physiological function and reproduction of arctic animals. however, there is a paucity of information on the link between pfass and oxidative stress, which can have potential detrimental effects on key fitness traits, such as cellular homeostasis or reproduction. we have examined the correlations between multiple blood-based markers of oxidative status and several perfluoroalkyl acids (i.e., with 8 or more car ... | 2019 | 30366280 |
| variable sea-ice conditions influence trophic dynamics in an arctic community of marine top predators. | sea-ice coverage is a key abiotic driver of annual environmental conditions in arctic marine ecosystems and could be a major factor affecting seabird trophic dynamics. using stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13c) and nitrogen (δ15n) in eggs of thick-billed murres (uria lomvia), northern fulmars (fulmarus glacialis), glaucous gulls (larus hyperboreus), and black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla), we investigated the trophic ecology of prebreeding seabirds nesting at prince leopold island, nuna ... | 2019 | 31346428 |
| a comparison of techniques for classifying behavior from accelerometers for two species of seabird. | the behavior of many wild animals remains a mystery, as it is difficult to quantify behavior of species that cannot be easily followed throughout their daily or seasonal movements. accelerometers can solve some of these mysteries, as they collect activity data at a high temporal resolution (<1 s), can be relatively small (<1 g) so they minimally disrupt behavior, and are increasingly capable of recording data for long periods. nonetheless, there is a need for increased validation of methods to c ... | 2019 | 30962879 |
| breeding synchrony and predator specialization: a test of the predator swamping hypothesis in seabirds. | reproductive synchrony is a widespread phenomenon that is predicted to be adaptive for prey with specialist predators but not for those with generalist ones. i tested this prediction in three polar seabird species characterized by different levels of predator specialization. in the antarctic petrel, for which the only predator was highly specialized, hatching dates were highly synchronous and chicks that hatched close to the mean hatching date had a higher survival. in black-legged kittiwakes an ... | 2019 | 30805171 |
| sex and hatching order modulate the association between mhc-ii diversity and fitness in early-life stages of a wild seabird. | genes of the major histocompatibility complex (mhc) play a pivotal role in parasite resistance, and their allelic diversity has been associated with fitness variations in several taxa. however, studies report inconsistencies in the direction of this association, with either positive, quadratic or no association being described. these discrepancies may arise because the fitness costs and benefits of mhc diversity differ among individuals depending on their exposure and immune responses to parasit ... | 2020 | 32654215 |
| contaminants, prolactin and parental care in an arctic seabird: contrasted associations of perfluoroalkyl substances and organochlorine compounds with egg-turning behavior. | incubating eggs represents a trade-off for parent birds between spending enough time fasting to take care of the clutch and to get enough nutrients for self-maintenance. it is believed that the pituitary hormone prolactin plays an important role in such allocation processes. incubation does not solely imply the active warming of the eggs but also the active egg-turning to facilitate absorption of albumen by the embryo, reduce malposition and prevent the embryo from adhering to the inner shell me ... | 2020 | 32032604 |
| foot web pentosidine does not covary strongly with age in four species of wild seabirds. | age is an important parameter for a variety of ecological applications, including population viability analyses, contaminants monitoring and targeting of individuals for conservation. while many organisms can be aged by annual rings, dentition and other techniques (i.e., fish otoliths, clam growth rings, mammal tooth wear), there are no minimally invasive biomarkers for accurately aging birds in the wild. for the past century, banding has been the only way to identify a bird of known age, which ... | 2020 | 31923625 |
| ecological costs of climate change on marine predator-prey population distributions by 2050. | identifying and quantifying the effects of climate change that alter the habitat overlap of marine predators and their prey population distributions is of great importance for the sustainable management of populations. this study uses bayesian joint models with integrated nested laplace approximation (inla) to predict future spatial density distributions in the form of common spatial trends of predator-prey overlap in 2050 under the "business-as-usual, worst-case" climate change scenario. this w ... | 2020 | 32015865 |
| polycyclic aromatic compounds (pacs) and trace elements in four marine bird species from northern canada in a region of natural marine oil and gas seeps. | there is a growing understanding of how oil pollution can affect aquatic ecosystems, including physical and chemical effects. one of the biggest challenges with detecting the effects of oil-related contaminants on biota from resource development is understanding the background levels and potential effects of the exposure of biota to contaminants from various natural and anthropogenic sources prior to large scale oil and gas operations. seabirds are effective indicators of pollution, and can be u ... | 2020 | 32711326 |
| plastic ingestion by four seabird species in the canadian arctic: comparisons across species and time. | plastic pollution ingestion by seabirds is an increasing environmental problem even in remote areas such as the arctic, yet knowledge on plastic pollution ingestion by several arctic seabirds is limited, making it difficult to assess trends. we examined plastic pollution ingestion by northern fulmars (fulmarus glacialis), black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla), thick-billed murres (uria lomvia) and black guillemots (cepphus grylle) in the canadian arctic to assess species-specific and tempor ... | 2020 | 32568085 |
| algal toxins in alaskan seabirds: evaluating the role of saxitoxin and domoic acid in a large-scale die-off of common murres. | elevated seawater temperatures are linked to the development of harmful algal blooms (habs), which pose a growing threat to marine birds and other wildlife. during late 2015 and early 2016, a massive die-off of common murres (uria aalge; hereafter, murres) was observed in the gulf of alaska coincident with a strong marine heat wave. previous studies have documented illness and death among seabirds resulting from exposure to the hab neurotoxins saxitoxin (stx) and domoic acid (da). given the unus ... | 2020 | 32113594 |
| evidence of avian influenza virus in seabirds breeding on a norwegian high-arctic archipelago. | wild aquatic birds serve as the natural reservoir for avian influenza virus (aiv), a disease with significant implications for avian and mammalian health. climate change is predicted to impact the dynamics of aiv, particularly in areas such as the arctic, but the baseline data needed to detect these shifts is often unavailable. in this study, plasma from two species of gulls breeding on the high-arctic svalbard archipelago were screened for antibodies to aiv. | 2020 | 32028933 |
| personality predicts foraging site fidelity and trip repeatability in a marine predator. | animal populations are often comprised of both foraging specialists and generalists. for instance, some individuals show higher foraging site fidelity (spatial specialization) than others. such individual differences in degree of specialization can persist over time-scales of months or even years in long-lived animals, but the mechanisms leading to these different individual strategies are not fully understood. there is accumulating evidence that individual variation in foraging behaviour is sha ... | 2020 | 31541578 |
| increased summer food supply decreases non-breeding movement in black-legged kittiwakes. | individual condition at one stage of the annual cycle is expected to influence behaviour during subsequent stages, yet experimental evidence of food-mediated carry-over effects is scarce. we used a food supplementation experiment to test the effects of food supply during the breeding season on migration phenology and non-breeding behaviour. we provided an unlimited supply of fish to black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) during their breeding season on middleton island, alaska, monitored rep ... | 2020 | 31937217 |
| accelerometry predicts muscle ultrastructure and flight capabilities in a wild bird. | muscle ultrastructure is closely linked with athletic performance in humans and lab animals, and presumably plays an important role in the movement ecology of wild animals. movement is critical for wild animals to forage, escape predators, and reproduce. however, little evidence directly links muscle condition to locomotion in the wild. we used gps-accelerometers to examine flight behaviour and muscle biopsies in breeding black-legged kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla) to assess muscle ultrastructure ... | 2020 | 33071216 |