Citation: Myksvoll, M. S., K. E. Erikstad, R. T. Barrett, H. Sandvik, and F. Vikebø (2013) Climate-driven ichthyoplankton drift model predicts growth of top predator young. Public Library of Science ONE, 8, article e79225, 9 pp.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079225 [what’s a doi?].
Key words: Atlantic Water, Barents Sea, chick body size, Gadus morhua, larval drift, Uria aalge.
Abstract:
Climate variability influences seabird population dynamics in several ways including access
to prey near colonies during the critical chick-rearing period. This study addresses breeding
success in a Barents Sea colony of common guillemots Uria aalge where trophic
conditions vary according to changes in the northward transport of warm Atlantic Water.
A drift model was used to simulate interannual variations in transport of cod Gadus
morhua larvae along the Norwegian coast towards their nursery grounds in the Barents Sea.
The results showed that the arrival of cod larvae from southern spawning grounds had a major
effect on the size of common guillemot chicks at fledging. Furthermore, the fraction of larvae
from the south was positively correlated to the inflow of Atlantic Water into the Barents Sea
thus clearly demonstrating the mechanisms by which climate-driven bottom-up processes
influence interannual variations in reproductive success in a marine top predator.
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