Biometrics, fatty acid composition and stable isotopic ratios of five seabird species from Kongsfjorden, Svalbard

Marine birds are important predators in the marine ecosystem, and dietary studies can give useful information about their feeding ecology, food webs and oceanographic variability. The aim of this study was to increase our understanding of the diet and trophic level of the seabirds breeding in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. We have used fatty acids and stable isotopes, both of which integrate diet information over space and time, to determine trophic relationships in marine food webs. Fatty acid compositions of muscle from Little auk (Alle alle), Brünnich's guillemot (Uria lomvia), Black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), Northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) and Glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) were determined and compared with their prey species. Canonical analysis (CA) showed that fatty acid composition differed among the five seabird species. Little auk, Black-legged kittiwake and Northern fulmar had high levels of the Calanus markers 20:1n9 and 22:1, indicating that these seabirds are a part of the Calanus food chain. Brünnich's guillemot differed from the other species with much lower levels of 20:1n9 and 22:1. Brünnich's guillemot is a pursuit diver feeding on fish and amphipods deeper in the water column, below 30 m. Glaucous gull also differed from the other seabird species, with a larger variation in the fatty acid composition indicating a more diverse diet. Trophic level analysis placed Little auk at the lowest trophic level, Brünnich's guillemot and Black-legged kittiwake at intermediate levels and Glaucous gull and Northern fulmar at the highest trophic level.

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Cite this as

Wold, Anette, Jæger, Iris, Hop, Haakon, Gabrielsen, Geir W, Falk-Petersen, Stig (2011). Dataset: Biometrics, fatty acid composition and stable isotopic ratios of five seabird species from Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.818002

DOI retrieved: 2011

Additional Info

Field Value
Imported on November 30, 2024
Last update November 30, 2024
License CC-BY-3.0
Source https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.818002
Author Wold, Anette
Given Name Anette
Family Name Wold
More Authors
Jæger, Iris
Hop, Haakon
Gabrielsen, Geir W
Falk-Petersen, Stig
Source Creation 2011
Publication Year 2011
Resource Type application/zip - filename: Wold_2011b
Subject Areas
Name: Ecology

Related Identifiers
Title: Arctic seabird food chains explored by fatty acid composition and stable isotopes in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard
Identifier: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-0975-4
Type: DOI
Relation: IsSupplementTo
Year: 2011
Source: Polar Biology
Authors: Wold Anette , Jæger Iris , Hop Haakon , Gabrielsen Geir W , Falk-Petersen Stig .