Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 18:09
Forums
Greenland Seabird Ecology
Hello. I was reading about your expedition and I find it really interesting. I was wondering, besides being an important part of this ecosystem, do the little auks serve any other environmental purposes? They seem to be important to this area of the world. Are they only found in this region or can they be found in other places?
Thank you!
Lindsay Moore
Mon, 04/09/2007 - 17:35

amy powers

do you think that the little awks feeding on the smaller, less nutririous, food supply ?be less healthy and able to reproduce?

Sat, 05/26/2007 - 16:49

Mary Anne Pell…

Hi Lindsey, 
From what I know, Little Auks are found primarily in Arctic regions, but have been observed in Great Britain, and Northern Europe. They are a food source for predators in the Arctic region, including glaucous gulls and some falcons. They are also hunted by Greenlandic natives as food and served as a delicacy in some far northern villages.

Sat, 05/26/2007 - 16:59

Mary Anne Pell…

Dear Amy, 
Initial results from Ann's research show that Little Auk babies that hatch from parents feeding on the smaller species of zooplankton have lower birthweights and grow more slowly than those in the Eastern Greenland colony. This may make them less able to avoid predators and less able to survive into adulthood. This would then lead to a decrease in the Little Auk population in those areas eating the smaller species. Since the parents usually only hatch one egg a season, less reproduction would mean no egg hatch for those parents. That is a great question, and one of the important questions that Ann hopes to find a conclusive answer for. You will have to follow her research results after this fall, when she works to analyze all of her data.
Keep asking those good questions!!