{"id":3596,"date":"2017-08-01T23:48:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-01T23:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seapop.no\/?p=3596"},"modified":"2021-02-26T12:23:28","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T11:23:28","slug":"the-subpolar-gyre-spg-a-promising-index-for-ecosystem-change-in-the-north-atlantic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seapop.no\/en\/2017\/08\/the-subpolar-gyre-spg-a-promising-index-for-ecosystem-change-in-the-north-atlantic\/","title":{"rendered":"The subpolar gyre (SPG): a promising index for ecosystem change in the North Atlantic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The annual survival rate of the Br\u00fcnnich\u2019s guillemot in Svalbard has decreased since the mid 1990s. The reason for the decline might be the weakening of the SPG (subpolar gyre) and the associated warming of the North Atlantic, which may have reduced prey availability in main wintering grounds.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Since 1997, two years after an abrupt ecosystem change in the Northeast Atlantic, Br\u00fcnnich\u2019s guillemot colonies in Svalbard have declined by up to 45%, and are under threat of extinction within the next 50 years. The present study examined whether a drop in adult survival rate may explain the population decline. Indeed, the population size of long-lived species such as the Br\u00fcnnich\u2019s guillemot (they can live for more than 30 years) can be strongly influenced by a change in the adult survival rate, which in turn may be influenced by changes in the environment. By catching, marking and following the marked birds from 1986 to 2011, researchers found that their annual adult survival rate has declined by up to 12% after ecosystem changes in the North Atlantic. These changes have been driven by a weakening of the subpolar gyre (SPG).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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