{"id":3452,"date":"2018-10-10T21:29:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T21:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seapop.no\/?p=3452"},"modified":"2021-02-26T12:23:26","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T11:23:26","slug":"climate-change-threatens-the-kittiwake-extreme-weather-and-altered-prey-availability-reduce-recruitment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seapop.no\/en\/2018\/10\/climate-change-threatens-the-kittiwake-extreme-weather-and-altered-prey-availability-reduce-recruitment\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate change threatens the kittiwake \u2013 extreme weather and altered prey availability reduce recruitment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For a decade, researchers have collected data on growth and survival rate of black-legged kittiwake chicks on SEAPOP\u2019s key-site Anda in northern Norway each summer. By combining these data with information on chick diet and local weather conditions during the same periods, they now demonstrate that chick growth and survival rate at this site can best be explained by wind speed, wind direction and type of prey in the chick diet.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seabird populations worldwide are in decline. The reasons for this are complex. It has, however, been shown that chick production can be an important driver of population change. Hence, it is important to understand which factors determine the growth rate and survival of the chicks, and thereby the total chick production. Reduced prey availability and increased external pressure of different kinds may, for example, force adult seabirds to prioritize their own body condition at the expense of chick production. Plainly spoken, the adults will have to eat the food they find themselves instead of feeding it to their chicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Populations of black-legged kittiwake are declining rapidly in large parts of the species\u2019 distribution range. For a decade, researchers have studied how weather conditions and the composition of prey items in the chick diet affect reproduction in kittiwakes at Anda, one of SEAPOP\u2019s key-sites. The results of the study, now published in a new article, show that growth and survival rate of the kittiwake chicks were affected by the type of prey they got.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the article:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n