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Barnas AF, Simone CAB, Geldart EA, Love OP, Jagielski PM, Gilchrist HG, Richardson ES, Dey CJ, Semeniuk CAD. An interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining Arctic seabird colony. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11012. [PMID: 38469043 PMCID: PMC10926061 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Interspecific foraging associations (IFAs) are biological interactions where two or more species forage in association with each other. Climate-induced reductions in Arctic sea ice have increased polar bear (Ursus maritimus) foraging in seabird colonies, which creates foraging opportunities for avian predators. We used drone video of bears foraging within a common eider (Somateria mollissima) colony on East Bay Island (Nunavut, Canada) in 2017 to investigate herring gull (Larus argentatus) foraging in association with bears. We recorded nest visitation by gulls following n = 193 eider flushing events from nests during incubation. The probability of gulls visiting eider nests increased with higher number of gulls present (β = 0.14 ± 0.03 [SE], p < .001) and for nests previously visited by a bear (β = 1.14 ± 0.49 [SE], p < .02). In our model examining the probability of gulls consuming eggs from nests, we failed to detect statistically significant effects for the number of gulls present (β = 0.09 ± 0.05 [SE], p < .07) or for nests previously visited by a bear (β = -0.92 ± 0.71 [SE], p < .19). Gulls preferred to visit nests behind bears (χ2 = 18, df = 1, p < .0001), indicating gulls are risk averse in the presence of polar bears. Our study provides novel insights on an Arctic IFA, and we present evidence that gulls capitalize on nests made available due to disturbance associated with foraging bears, as eiders disturbed off their nest allow gulls easier access to eggs. We suggest the IFA between gulls and polar bears is parasitic, as gulls are consuming terrestrial resources which would have eventually been consumed by bears. This finding has implications for estimating the energetic contribution of bird eggs to polar bear summer diets in that the total number of available clutches to consume may be reduced due to avian predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew F. Barnas
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
- School of Environmental StudiesUniversity of VictoriaVictoriaBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | | | - Erica A. Geldart
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | | | - H. Grant Gilchrist
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Science and Technology BranchEnvironment and Climate Change CanadaOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Evan S. Richardson
- Science and Technology BranchEnvironment and Climate Change CanadaOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Cody J. Dey
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
- Science and Technology BranchEnvironment and Climate Change CanadaOttawaOntarioCanada
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Poirier M, Gauthier G, Domine F, Fauteux D. Lemming winter habitat: the quest for warm and soft snow. Oecologia 2023:10.1007/s00442-023-05385-y. [PMID: 37351629 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05385-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
During the cold arctic winter, small mammals like lemmings seek refuge inside the snowpack to keep warm and they dig tunnels in the basal snow layer, usually formed of a soft depth hoar, to find vegetation on which they feed. The snowpack, however, is a heterogenous medium and lemmings should use habitats where snow properties favor their survival and winter reproduction. We determined the impact of snow physical properties on lemming habitat use and reproduction in winter by sampling their winter nests for 13 years and snow properties for 6 years across 4 different habitats (mesic, riparian, shrubland, and wetland) on Bylot Island in the Canadian High Arctic. We found that lemmings use riparian habitat most intensively because snow accumulates more rapidly, the snowpack is the deepest and temperature of the basal snow layer is the highest in this habitat. However, in the deepest snowpacks, the basal depth hoar layer was denser and less developed than in habitats with shallower snowpacks, and those conditions were negatively related to lemming reproduction in winter. Shrubland appeared a habitat of moderate quality for lemmings as it favored a soft basal snow layer and a deep snowpack compared with mesic and wetland, but snow conditions in this habitat critically depend on weather conditions at the beginning of the winter. With climate change, a hardening of the basal layer of the snowpack and a delay in snow accumulation are expected, which could negatively affect the winter habitat of lemmings and be detrimental to their populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Poirier
- Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, 2405, rue de la Terrasse, Québec, QC, Canada.
- Department of Biology, Université Laval, 1045 av. de la Médecine, Québec, QC, Canada.
- Takuvik Joint International Laboratory, Université Laval (Canada) and CNRS-INSU (France), 1045 av. de la Médecine, Québec, QC, Canada.
| | - Gilles Gauthier
- Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, 2405, rue de la Terrasse, Québec, QC, Canada
- Department of Biology, Université Laval, 1045 av. de la Médecine, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Florent Domine
- Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, 2405, rue de la Terrasse, Québec, QC, Canada
- Takuvik Joint International Laboratory, Université Laval (Canada) and CNRS-INSU (France), 1045 av. de la Médecine, Québec, QC, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, Université Laval, 1045 av. de la Médecine, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Dominique Fauteux
- Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, 2405, rue de la Terrasse, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre for Arctic Knowledge and Exploration, Canadian Museum of Nature, Station D, P.O. Box 3443, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Cameron C, Johnson DH, Gauthier G, Lecomte N, Therrien J. Ecomorphological adaptations of owl feet and talons. J Zool (1987) 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.13044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- C. Cameron
- Canada Research Chair in Polar and Boreal Ecology Université de Moncton Moncton NB Canada
| | | | | | - N. Lecomte
- Canada Research Chair in Polar and Boreal Ecology Université de Moncton Moncton NB Canada
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Bolduc D, Fauteux D, Gagnon CA, Gauthier G, Bêty J, Legagneux P. Testimonials to reconstruct past abundances of wildlife populations. Basic Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2022.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Green CP, Ratcliffe N, Mattern T, Thompson D, Lea MA, Wotherspoon S, Borboroglu PG, Ellenberg U, Morrison KW, Pütz K, Sagar PM, Seddon PJ, Torres LG, Hindell MA. The role of allochrony in influencing interspecific differences in foraging distribution during the non-breeding season between two congeneric crested penguin species. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0262901. [PMID: 35139102 PMCID: PMC8827451 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Mechanisms promoting coexistence between closely related species are fundamental for maintaining species diversity. Mechanisms of niche differentiation include allochrony which offsets the peak timing of resource utilisation between species. Many studies focus on spatial and temporal niche partitioning during the breeding season, few have investigated the role allochrony plays in influencing interspecific segregation of foraging distribution and ecology between congeneric species during the non-breeding season. We investigated the non-breeding migrations of Snares (Eudyptes robustus) and Fiordland penguins (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus), closely related species breeding between 100-350 km apart whose migration phenology differs by two months. Using light geolocation tracking, we examined the degree of overlap given the observed allochrony and a hypothetical scenario where the species commence migration simultaneously. We found that Fiordland penguins migrated to the Sub-Antarctic Frontal Zone and Polar Frontal Zone in the austral autumn whereas Snares penguins disperse westwards staying north of the Sub-Tropical Front in the austral winter. Our results suggest that allochrony is likely to be at the root of segregation because the relative profitability of the different water masses that the penguins forage in changes seasonally which results in the two species utilising different areas over their core non-breeding periods. Furthermore, allochrony reduces relatively higher levels of spatiotemporal overlap during the departure and arrival periods, when the close proximity of the two species' colonies would cause the birds to congregate in similar areas, resulting in high interspecific competition just before the breeding season. Available evidence from other studies suggests that the shift in phenology between these species has arisen from adaptive radiation and phenological matching to the seasonality of local resource availability during the breeding season and reduced competitive overlap over the non-breeding season is likely to be an incidental outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara-Paige Green
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | | | - Thomas Mattern
- New Zealand Penguin Initiative, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Global Penguin Society, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
| | - David Thompson
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd., Hataitai, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Mary-Anne Lea
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Simon Wotherspoon
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- Australian Antarctic Division, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Pablo Garcia Borboroglu
- New Zealand Penguin Initiative, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Global Penguin Society, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
- Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CESIMAR–CONICET), Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Ursula Ellenberg
- Global Penguin Society, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Kyle W. Morrison
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd., Hataitai, Wellington, New Zealand
| | | | - Paul M. Sagar
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd., Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Philip J. Seddon
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Leigh G. Torres
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Mark A. Hindell
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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