Citation: Reiertsen, T. K., K. E. Erikstad, T. Anker-Nilssen, R. T. Barrett, T. Boulinier, M. Frederiksen, J. González-Solís, D. Gremillet, D. Johns, B. Moe, A. Ponchon, M. Skern-Mauritzen, H. Sandvik, and N. G. Yoccoz (2014) Prey density in non-breeding areas affects adult survival of Black-legged Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 509, 289–302.
doi: 10.3354/meps10825 [what’s a doi?].
Key words: Capture–mark–recapture analysis, Mallotus villosus, non-breeding distribution, Thecosomata.
Abstract:
In migratory birds, environmental conditions in both breeding and non-breeding areas may affect
adult survival rates and hence be significant drivers of demographic processes. In seabirds,
poor knowledge of their true distribution outside the breeding season, however, has severely
limited such studies. This study explored how annual adult survival rates of black-legged
kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla on Hornøya in the southern Barents Sea were related to
temporal variation in prey densities and climatic parameters in their breeding and
non-breeding areas. We used information on the kittiwakes’ spatiotemporal distribution
in the non-breeding season gained from year-round light-based tracking devices (geolocators)
and satellite transmitters, and kittiwake annual adult survival rates gained from a multistate
capture–mark–recapture analysis of a 22 yr time series of colour-ringed kittiwakes.
In the post-breeding period, kittiwakes concentrated in an area east of Svalbard, in the winter
they stayed in the Grand Banks/Labrador Sea area, and in the pre-breeding period they returned
to the Barents Sea. We identified 2 possible prey categories of importance for the survival of
kittiwakes in these areas (sea butterflies Thecosomata in the Grand Banks/Labrador Sea area in
winter and capelin Mallotus villosus in the Barents Sea in the pre-breeding season)
that together explained 52% of the variation in adult survival rates. Our results may have
important implications for the conservation of kittiwakes, which are declining globally, because
other populations use the same areas. Since they are under the influence of major anthropogenic
activities including fisheries, international shipping and the offshore oil and gas industry,
both areas should be targeted for future management plans.
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Supplementary material: A description of the selection of covariates used and Tables S1 to S3 are available here (pdf, 0.4 MB)