Climate warming decreases the survival of the little auk (Alle alle), a high Arctic avian predator.

ABSTRACT: Delayed maturity, low fecundity, and high adult survival are traits typical for species with a long-life expectancy. For such species, even a small change in adult survival can strongly affect the population dynamics and viability. We examined the effects of both regional and local climatic variability on adult survival of the little auk, a long-lived and numerous Arctic seabird species. We conducted a mark-resighting study for a period of 8 years (2006-2013) simultaneously at three little auk breeding sites that are influenced by the West Spitsbergen Current, which is the main carrier of warm, Atlantic water into the Arctic. We found that the survival of adult little auks was negatively correlated with both the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and local summer sea surface temperatur

SUBMITTER: Hovinen JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4161185 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature