Forums
Greenland Seabird Ecology

Aloha Mary Anne!!

I am following your every step as you have prepared and now as you take off for the great white north. I am so interested in your mission and will have my students following you in a few weeks when they get back to school (July 31).

Could you ask your researcher if they are tracking the number of little auks eaten and if so has the number changed over time? Lastly have the natives used little auk feathers or bones for ornamentation?

Warmly,

Maggie

Wed, 07/25/2007 - 16:53

Mary Anne Pell…

Maggie, As far as ornamentation by natives we have some limited information. As the posted photos indicate, these birds are primarily black and white, with no distinctive feather pattern. We know that Crested Auklets in the Pacific are used traditionally by some communities of Alaska natives for ornamentation. So, other species of auklets have been used.
We are unsure about on this large island, because although Little auks have the same foraging and habitat niche, they have less ornamentation so may not be of interest as decoration. Little auks rely on display behavior in courtship. I will double check on the question of ornamentation that when I go to the village.
In an article from the Journal, The birds of North America, No. 701, 2002 from the American Ornithologists’ Union, there are statistics on Little auk consumption. W.A. Montevecchi and I.J. Stenhouse wrote that “in Greenland, human harvests at large colonies have been substantial (e.g., 250,000-500,000 in birds in1984) but recent statistics (1994-1996) suggest a harvest of around 65,000 birds for all of Greenland, mostly from nw. Greenland. A limited commercial harvest also occurs in nw. Greenland, but numbers taken vary greatly from year to year.
What amazes me continually is that this team is conducting primary research. It is known that they are a long lived species, up to 20 years. When resources are limited, they may not produce offspring one year, saving the resources for their own survival. That is shy these energetic studies will be so valuable. How much reserve does each individual have? How much energy is used foraging, brooding, and fledging? Clipped wing studies are being done here to also attempt to answer that.
In another journal, I will try to summarize all of the research that data is being gathered for. It’s phenomenal. Hope you’re well Maggie. I look forward to collaboration in the fall with your junior high students. Maybe we can get other junior high classes on board, who might read this post.
Enjoy the sun. Mary Anne