Wintering seabirds in south-west Greenland, 2017

Merkel, Flemming; Johansen, Kasper Lambert; Nielsen, Rasmus Due; Petersen, Ib Krag; Sterup, Jacob; Mosbech, Anders

doi:10.33265/polar.v38.3462

Cited by 5 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…1). This is a key wintering area for thick-billed murre, common eider, Somateria mollissima Linnaeus, 1758, king eider, S. spectabilis Linnaeus, 1758, and long-tailed duck, Clangula hyemalis Linnaeus, 1758 (Merkel et al 2019). The murres winter in the shelf region off Southwest Greenland, including the near-coastal archipelago (Boertmann et al 2004).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing winter diet of Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia) in southwest Greenland, 1990s versus 2010s

et al. 2021

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Southwest Greenland constitutes an internationally important wintering area for seabirds, including thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia Linnaeus, 1758), but their prey may be affected by the general warming of this sub-Arctic region. We compare murre diet collected in winter in the 1990s and 2010s around Nuuk. Fish made up 36% of the diet (wet mass) and crustaceans 63% in the 1990s, changing to 22% and 78% in the 2010s, respectively. Capelin (Mallotus villosus Müller, 1776) was the dominant fish species, and the smaller contribution in the 2010s coincided with declining densities of capelin around Nuuk. The crustaceans were dominated by two krill species, Meganyctiphanes norvegica M. Sars, 1857, and Thysanoessa inermis Krøyer, 1846. However, M. norvegica was only important in the 2010s (51% wet mass), while T. inermis was dominating the 1990s with 62% wet mass and only 23% in 2010s. The dominance of M. norvegica in the 2010s confirmed our expectations of a gradual “borealization” of this region due to the generally warming sub-Arctic. The smaller contribution of fish in the diet may also support the hypothesis of deteriorating winter conditions for murres. Apart from the diet, plastic was found in 15% of the birds and 53% had parasitic nematods.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing winter diet of Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia) in southwest Greenland, 1990s versus 2010s

et al. 2021

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“…The fishery takes place in April to June (during lumpfish spawning) in West Greenland coastal waters, employing large-meshed gill nets (260 mm). The nets are set in shallow water (< 20 m), during a relatively short season (4−8 wk), where the fishery overlaps both in time and space with several overwintering populations of North Atlantic seabirds, most notably common eider Somateria mollissima, king eider S. spectabilis, long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis and black guillemot Cepphus grylle (Merkel et al 2019). All of these avian species can potentially get entangled in fishing nets during feeding dives (Žydelis et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All of these avian species can potentially get entangled in fishing nets during feeding dives (Žydelis et al 2013). The foraging habits of common eiders make them particularly vulnerable, as their preferred diving depth and local habitat overlap substantially with the lumpfish gillnets (Merkel & Mosbech 2008, Merkel et al 2019. The longtailed duck is also distributed in the coastal area (Merkel et al 2019), but tends to forage in deeper waters (up to 66 m) than the common eider (up to 42 m) (Guillemette et al 1993, Robertson & Savard 2020, and is therefore less likely to be caught.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The foraging habits of common eiders make them particularly vulnerable, as their preferred diving depth and local habitat overlap substantially with the lumpfish gillnets (Merkel & Mosbech 2008, Merkel et al 2019. The longtailed duck is also distributed in the coastal area (Merkel et al 2019), but tends to forage in deeper waters (up to 66 m) than the common eider (up to 42 m) (Guillemette et al 1993, Robertson & Savard 2020, and is therefore less likely to be caught. This is also the case for the king eider and black guillemot, because they are mainly distributed further offshore in Southwest Greenland during winter (Merkel et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The longtailed duck is also distributed in the coastal area (Merkel et al 2019), but tends to forage in deeper waters (up to 66 m) than the common eider (up to 42 m) (Guillemette et al 1993, Robertson & Savard 2020, and is therefore less likely to be caught. This is also the case for the king eider and black guillemot, because they are mainly distributed further offshore in Southwest Greenland during winter (Merkel et al 2019). Although bycatch of birds appears to be under reported (Merkel 2011), the relative contribution of these species to the bycatch is confirmed by official reporting (Piniarneq 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bycatch in the West Greenland lumpfish fishery, with particular focus on the common eider population

Merkel

Post

Frederiksen

et al. 2022

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Incidental bycatch is a well-known challenge in gillnet fisheries throughout the world, and the fishery for North Atlantic lumpfish Cyclopterus lumpus roe is no exception. In Greenland, the fishery was Marine Stewardship Council-certified in 2015 but has pending conditions related to bycatch quantification, enforcement and mitigation strategies. To improve this situation and to assess the potential impact of bycatch, we collected independent on-board observer data on non-target fish and seabirds over 2 seasons (2019 and 2021). We recorded 6 fish species, but the only species constituting >1% of the lumpfish landings was the spotted wolffish Anarhichas minor. The bycatch of fish likely had little impact on the involved fish stocks. We recorded 4 seabird species, of which common eider Somateria mollissima was most common. When extrapolated to the entire West Greenland lumpfish fishery, the estimated bycatch of common eider was considerably higher in 2019 (19938; 95% CI: 3486-59661) than in 2021 (9802: 1260-29940) due to a longer fishing season in 2019. On average, for 2019 and 2021, the bycatch was modelled to reduce the growth potential for the West Greenland winter population by 51%. In comparison, the current hunting level (16538 birds yr-1) reduced the growth potential by 30%. The larger impact of bycatch was mainly due to a larger proportion of adults and females being targeted. The common eider bycatch impacts mainly the breeding population in Canada and Southwest Greenland and less so in Northwest Greenland. As mitigation, we recommend temporal closures of the fishery unless modified gillnets, which markedly reduce bycatch, become available.

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Anthropogenic impacts on the demographics of Arctic-breeding birds

2020

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The Arctic supports a diversity of breeding birds. Since the mid-twentieth century, anthropogenic-source climate change, industrial activity and harvest have impacted this ecosystem and the demographics of its breeding birds, highlighting the need to synthesise current knowledge. A scoping review was conducted to quantify recent population trends and identify impacts of anthropogenic activity on species' demography. The literature revealed that many seabird trends were mixed or uncertain. Trends among waterfowl, divers and cranes were largely upward or stable. Trends among waders, passerines and raptors, however, were more evenly distributed upward and downward. Wader trends tended to be more positive in the East Atlantic flyway compared to other flyways, while many raptor populations are recovering following historic losses. In contrast, grouse experienced uncertain or negative trends. Weather regime and vegetation shifts, phenological mismatches and diminishing sea ice associated with climate change are important drivers of demography. The strength and direction of these impacts, however, varies among guilds and between the low and high-Arctic. The extraction, chemical, agriculture and fisheries industries also impact demography. Research on heavy metal and organochlorine contamination was prevalent in the literature, despite having relatively weaker impacts than other drivers. Although bird harvest has had profound impacts on Arctic populations, recently updated regulations and improvements in policy have ameliorated its impact somewhat. Nonetheless, many anthropogenic impacts are predicted to become more severe in the future, with consequences for breeding bird trends, therefore continued pan-Arctic monitoring and addressing knowledge gaps will be necessary to preserve this unique biome.

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Wintering seabirds in south-west Greenland, 2017

Cited by 5 publications

References 30 publications

Changing winter diet of Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia) in southwest Greenland, 1990s versus 2010s

Changing winter diet of Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia) in southwest Greenland, 1990s versus 2010s

Bycatch in the West Greenland lumpfish fishery, with particular focus on the common eider population

Anthropogenic impacts on the demographics of Arctic-breeding birds

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