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Hajo Eicken, Finn Danielsen, Josephine-Mary Sam, Maryann Fidel, Noor Johnson, Michael K Poulsen, Olivia A Lee, Katie V Spellman, Lisbeth Iversen, Peter Pulsifer, Martin Enghoff. (2021). Connecting Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches in Environmental Observing (Vol. 71). Bachelor's thesis, , .
Abstract: Effective responses to rapid environmental change rely on observations to inform planning and decision-making. Reviewing literature from 124 programs across the globe and analyzing survey data for 30 Arctic community-based monitoring programs, we compare top-down, large-scale program driven approaches with bottom-up approaches initiated and steered at the community level. Connecting these two approaches and linking to Indigenous and local knowledge yields benefits including improved information products and enhanced observing program efficiency and sustainability. We identify core principles central to such improved links: matching observing program aims, scales, and ability to act on information; matching observing program and community priorities; fostering compatibility in observing methodology and data management; respect of Indigenous intellectual property rights and the implementation of free, prior, and informed consent; creating sufficient organizational support structures; and ensuring sustained community members’ commitment. Interventions to overcome challenges in adhering to these principles are discussed.
Programme: 1090,1206
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Alice Bernard, Ana S. L. Rodrigues, Victor Cazalis, David Grémillet. (2021). Toward a global strategy for seabird tracking (Vol. 14).
Abstract: Electronic tracking technologies revolutionized wildlife ecology, notably for studying the movements of elusive species such as seabirds. Those advances are key to seabird conservation, for example in guiding the design of marine protected areas for this highly threatened group. Tracking data are also boosting scientific understanding of marine ecosystem dynamics in the context of global change. To optimize future tracking efforts, we performed a global assessment of seabird tracking data. We identified and mined 689 seabird tracking studies, reporting on > 28,000 individuals of 216 species from 17 families over the last four decades. We found substantial knowledge gaps, reflecting a historical neglect of tropical seabird ecology, with biases toward species that are heavier, oceanic, and from high-latitude regions. Conservation status had little influence on seabird tracking propensity. We identified 54 threatened species for which we did not find published tracking records, and 19 with very little data. Additionally, much of the existing tracking data are not yet available to other researchers and decision-makers in online databases. We highlight priority species and regions for future tracking efforts. More broadly, we provide guidance toward an ethical, rational, and efficient global tracking program for seabirds, as a contribution to their conservation.
Keywords: biogeography biologging biotelemetry ecological monitoring marine conservation oceanography spatial planning threatened species
Programme: 388
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Noor Johnson, Matthew L Druckenmiller, Finn Danielsen, Peter L Pulsifer. (2021). The Use of Digital Platforms for Community-Based Monitoring (Vol. 71). Bachelor's thesis, , .
Abstract: Environmental observing programs that are based on Indigenous and local knowledge increasingly use digital technologies. Digital platforms may improve data management in community-based monitoring (CBM) programs, but little is known about how their use translates into tangible results. Drawing on published literature and a survey of 18 platforms, we examine why and how digital platforms are used in CBM programs and illuminate potential challenges and opportunities. Digital platforms make it easy to collect, archive, and share CBM data, facilitate data use, and support understanding larger-scale environmental patterns through interlinking with other platforms. Digital platforms, however, also introduce new challenges, with implications for the sustainability of CBM programs and communities’ abilities to maintain control of their own data. We expect that increased data access and strengthened technical capacity will create further demand within many communities for ethically developed platforms that aid in both local and larger-scale decision-making.
Programme: 1090,1206
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Anne-Sophie Bonnet-Lebrun, Maria P. Dias, Richard A. Phillips, José P. Granadeiro, M. de L. Brooke, Olivier Chastel, Thomas A. Clay, Annette L. Fayet, Olivier Gilg, Jacob González-Solís, Tim Guilford, Sveinn A. Hanssen, April Hedd, Audrey Jaeger, Johannes Krietsch, Johannes Lang, Matthieu Le Corre, Teresa Militão, Børge Moe, William A. Montevecchi, Hans-Ulrich Peter, Patrick Pinet, Matt J. Rayner, Tim Reid, José Manuel Reyes-González, Peter G. Ryan, Paul M. Sagar, Niels M. Schmidt, David R. Thompson, Rob van Bemmelen, Yutaka Watanuki, Henri Weimerskirch, Takashi Yamamoto, Paulo Catry. (2021). Seabird Migration Strategies: Flight Budgets, Diel Activity Patterns, and Lunar Influence (Vol. 8). Bachelor's thesis, , .
Abstract: Every year, billions of birds undertake extensive migrations between breeding and non-breeding areas, facing challenges that require behavioural adjustments, particularly to flight timing and duration. Such adjustments in daily activity patterns and the influence of extrinsic factors (e.g., environmental conditions, moonlight) have received much more research attention in terrestrial than marine migrants. Taking advantage of the widespread deployment in recent decades of combined light-level geolocator-immersion loggers, we investigated diel organisation and influence of the moon on flight activities during the non-breeding season of 21 migrant seabird species from a wide taxonomic range (6 families, 3 orders). Migrant seabirds regularly stopped (to either feed or rest) during migration, unlike some terrestrial and wetland birds which fly non-stop. We found an overall increase for most seabird species in time in flight and, for several species, also in flight bout duration, during migration compared to when resident at the non-breeding grounds. Additionally, several nocturnal species spent more of the day in flight during migration than at non-breeding areas, and vice versa for diurnal species. Nocturnal time in flight tended to increase during full moon, both during migration and at the non-breeding grounds, depending on species. Our study provides an extensive overview of activity patterns of migrant seabirds, paving the way for further research on the underlying mechanisms and drivers.
Programme: 330,1036
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Christophe Barbraud, Baudouin des Monstiers, Adrien Chaigne, Cédric Marteau, Henri Weimerskirch, Karine Delord. (2021). Predation by feral cats threatens great albatrosses (Vol. 23).
Abstract: Feral cats (Felis catus) are a potential threat for several seabird species including medium sized albatrosses, but studies documenting predation behavior, demographic impacts and effects of predator control are scarce. Here, we present data on feral cat predation behavior on one of the world’s largest seabirds, the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) at Kerguelen Island, and show how it affects breeding success and rate of population growth. We assess the effect of a feral cat control experiment on breeding success and population viability. Using 32 camera traps we monitored 25 nests of albatross and detected 295 events showing a potential predator. Of these, 75.2% and 24.8% involved feral cats and giant petrels, respectively. Giant petrels were never implicated in direct predation. We recorded 17 attacks of feral cats on 13 albatross chicks. Attacks lasted in average 52.1 ± 72.9 min, and resulted in the death of 10 of the 13 (76.9%) monitored chicks. Breeding success where attacks were recorded was low (12%) compared to areas with no attack (86%). Mean breeding success during 3 years before cat control was 26% and increased to 80% during the 3 years following the experiment. According to predation scenarios, population modelling showed that the albatross population would decline by 2.7–4.5% per year without cat control. Following cat control the population would increase at 1.8% per year. Our results demonstrate that feral cats predate and have negative impacts on breeding success and population growth rate of wandering albatrosses at Kerguelen Island. We provide recommendations on feral cat control and eradication to mitigate the risk of population decline or local extinction of large albatrosses.
Programme: 109
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Johanna Faure, Clara Péron, Nicolas Gasco, Félix Massiot-Granier, Jérôme Spitz, Christophe Guinet, Paul Tixier. (2021). Contribution of toothfish depredated on fishing lines to the energy intake of killer whales off the Crozet Islands: a multi-scale bioenergetic approach (Vol. 668).
Abstract: Fisheries modify prey availability for marine predators by extracting resources but also by providing them with new feeding opportunities. Among these, depredation, which occurs when predators feed on fish caught on fishing gear, is a behavior developed by many species as a way to acquire food through limited foraging effort. However, the extent to which depredated resources from fisheries contribute to the energetic requirements and affect the demography of depredating individuals is unknown. We investigated the contribution of Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides depredated on longlines to the energetic requirements of killer whales Orcinus orca around the Crozet Islands (southern Indian Ocean) over the period 2007-2018. Our results indicate that during days when depredation occurred, depredating individuals fulfilled on average 94.1% of their daily energetic requirements with depredated toothfish. However, the contribution varied from 1.2 to 13.3% of the monthly energetic requirements and from 2.4 to 8.8% of the yearly energetic requirements of the total population. Together, these findings suggest that intake of depredated toothfish can be substantial at a fine scale (daily and individually), potentially leading to temporary provisioning effects and changes in predation pressures. These effects become minor (<10%), however, when considering the full population over a whole year. The contribution of depredated fish to the annual energetic requirements of the population has increased in recent years, likely due to larger fishing quotas and greater opportunities for whales to depredate, which stresses the importance of accounting for depredation in ecosystem-based management of fishing activity.
Keywords: Bioenergetic model Depredation Dissostichus eleginoides Ecosystem-based management Fisheries interaction Marine mammals Orcinus orca Top predator conservation
Programme: 109
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Anaïs Janc, Christophe Guinet, David Pinaud, Gaëtan Richard, Pascal Monestiez, Paul Tixier. (2021). Fishing behaviours and fisher effect in decision-making processes when facing depredation by marine predators (Vol. 28).
Abstract: Fishers aim to optimise cost–benefit ratios of their behaviour when exploiting resources. Avoidance of interactions with marine predators (i.e. their feeding on catches in fishing gear, known as depredation) has recently become an important component of their decisions. How fishers minimise these interactions whilst maximising fishing success is poorly understood. This issue is addressed in a sub-Antarctic, long-line fishery confronted with extensive depredation by sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus and killer whales Orcinus orca by examining a 15-year data set. Whereas a broad range of behaviours was identified from spatio-temporal and operational descriptors, none combined high fishing success with low frequency of interactions. With experience, fishers favoured exploitation of productive patches with high frequencies of interactions over avoidance behaviours. Such decisions, although potentially optimal in the short term, are likely to intensify pressures on fish stocks and impact depredating whales. Therefore, the present study provides additional evidence to inform management decisions pertaining to the coexistence between fisheries and marine predators.
Keywords: experience individual perceptions optimal foraging theory skipper behaviour sustainability of fish stocks whale–fisheries interactions
Programme: 109
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Mathilde Poirier, Dominique Fauteux, Gilles Gauthier, Florent Domine, Jean-François Lamarre. (2021). Snow hardness impacts intranivean locomotion of arctic small mammals (Vol. 12).
Abstract: Fossorial locomotion is often considered as the most energetically costly of all terrestrial locomotion. Small arctic rodents, such as lemmings, dig tunnels not only in the soil but also through the snowpack, which is present for over 8 months of the year. Lemmings typically dig in the softest snow layer called the depth hoar but with climate change, melt-freeze and rain-on-snow (ROS) events are expected to increase in the Arctic, leading to a higher frequency of hardened snowpacks. We assessed the impacts of snow hardness on the locomotion of two lemming species showing different morphological adaptations for digging. We hypothesized that an increase in snow hardness would (1) decrease lemming performance and (2) increase their effort while digging, but those responses would differ between lemming species. We exposed four brown lemmings (Lemmus trimucronatus) and three collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) to snow of different hardness (soft, hard, and ROS) during 30-min trials (n = 63 trials) in a cold room and filmed their behavior. We found that the digging speed and tunnel length of both species decreased with snow hardness and density, underlining the critical role of snow properties in affecting lemming digging performance. During the ROS trials, time spent digging by lemmings increased considerably and they also started using their incisors to help break the hard snow, validating our second hypothesis. Overall, digging performance was higher in collared lemmings, the species showing more morphological adaptations to digging, than in brown lemmings. We conclude that the digging performance of lemming is highly dependent on snowpack hardness and that the anticipated increase in ROS events may pose a critical energetic challenge for arctic rodent populations.
Keywords: Arctic burrowing behavior digging fossorial hardness lemming locomotion rain-on-snow rodent snow subnivean tunnel
Programme: 1042
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Helena P. Baird, Seunggwan Shin, Rolf G. Oberprieler, Maurice Hullé, Philippe Vernon, Katherine L. Moon, Richard H. Adams, Duane D. McKenna, Steven L. Chown. (2021). Fifty million years of beetle evolution along the Antarctic Polar Front (Vol. 118).
Abstract: Global cooling and glacial–interglacial cycles since Antarctica’s isolation have been responsible for the diversification of the region’s marine fauna. By contrast, these same Earth system processes are thought to have played little role terrestrially, other than driving widespread extinctions. Here, we show that on islands along the Antarctic Polar Front, paleoclimatic processes have been key to diversification of one of the world’s most geographically isolated and unique groups of herbivorous beetles—Ectemnorhinini weevils. Combining phylogenomic, phylogenetic, and phylogeographic approaches, we demonstrate that these weevils colonized the sub-Antarctic islands from Africa at least 50 Ma ago and repeatedly dispersed among them. As the climate cooled from the mid-Miocene, diversification of the beetles accelerated, resulting in two species-rich clades. One of these clades specialized to feed on cryptogams, typical of the polar habitats that came to prevail under Miocene conditions yet remarkable as a food source for any beetle. This clade’s most unusual representative is a marine weevil currently undergoing further speciation. The other clade retained the more common weevil habit of feeding on angiosperms, which likely survived glaciation in isolated refugia. Diversification of Ectemnorhinini weevils occurred in synchrony with many other Antarctic radiations, including penguins and notothenioid fishes, and coincided with major environmental changes. Our results thus indicate that geo-climatically driven diversification has progressed similarly for Antarctic marine and terrestrial organisms since the Miocene, potentially constituting a general biodiversity paradigm that should be sought broadly for the region’s taxa.
Keywords: Antarctica herbivory island biogeography paleoclimate species radiation
Programme: 136
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Lucie Aulus-Giacosa. (2021). Spatio-temporal evolution of life history traits related to dispersal. Brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) colonization of the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands. // Evolution de l'anadromie chez la truite commune (Salmo trutta) L. dans le cadre de l'expansion des populations introduites dans les îles Kerguelen..
Abstract: Grâce à ses capacités dispersives et adaptatives, la truite commune (Salmo trutta L.), poisson anadrome facultatif, est un bon candidat à la colonisation de nouveaux milieux. L'introduction de l'espèce dans les années 1950 dans les îles subantarctiques de Kerguelen fournit un modèle d'étude unique pour comprendre les causes et les mécanismes de la dispersion, grâce à l'étude des traits d'histoire de vie en lien avec la migration (e.g. croissance, âge à la migration). L'étude de leur évolution temporelle le long d'un front de colonisation est le cœur de ce travail de thèse. A travers l’étude des écailles recueillies dans le cadre de ce programme à long terme, les histoires de vie de près de 5000 poissons ont été reconstruites. Ce travail démontre l’importance de la méthodologie utilisée afin de reconstruire les traits de vie individuel. La modélisation de l’évolution de la croissance en eau douce, de la taille à l’âge et de l’âge à la première migration démontre que des processus évolutifs sont en œuvre dans les populations en expansion. Notamment, le ralentissement de la croissance avec le temps ainsi que la diminution de la taille à l’âge le long du front de colonisation laissent à penser que la capacité de dispersion diminue à mesure que les populations sont en marges de la zone d’expansion. L’évolution de la valeur seuil à la première migration confirme ce résultat, et illustre l’importance de la plasticité phénotypique et de l’adaptation locale dans le choix de la tactique migratoire. Toutefois, l’approche menée dans ce manuscrit se concentre sur l’évolution de la migration, et bénéficierait de l’étude de l’évolution conjointe des traits impliqués dans la valeur sélective (balance coûts-bénéfices), tels que la reproduction, ou la croissance en mer.
Programme: 1041
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