Aim: To identify the broad-scale oceanic migration routes ('marine flyways') used by multiple pelagic, long-distance migratory seabirds based on a global compilation of tracking data. Location: Global. Time Period: 1989-2023. Major Taxa Studied: Seabirds (Families: Phaethontidae, Hydrobatidae, Diomedeidae, Procellariidae, Laridae and Stercorariidae). Methods: We collated a comprehensive global tracking dataset that included the migratory routes of 48 pelagic and long-distance migrating seabird species across the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans. We grouped individuals that followed similar routes, independent of species or timings of migration, using a dynamic time warping clustering approach. We visualised the routes of each cluster using a line density analysis and used knowledge of seabird spatial ecology to combine the clusters to identify the broad-scale flyways followed by most pelagic migratory seabirds tracked to-date at an ocean-basin scale. Results: Six marine flyways were identified across the world's oceans: the Atlantic Ocean Flyway, North Indian Ocean Flyway, East Indian Ocean Flyway, West Pacific Ocean Flyway, Pacific Ocean Flyway and Southern Ocean Flyway. Generally, the flyways were used bidirectionally, and individuals either followed sections of a flyway, a complete flyway, or their movements linked two or more flyways. Transhemispheric figure-of-eight routes in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and a circumnavigation flyway in the Southern Ocean correspond with major wind-driven ocean currents. Main Conclusions: The marine flyways identified demonstrate that pelagic seabirds have similar and repeatable migration routes across ocean-basin scales. Our study highlights the need to account for connectivity in seabird conservation and provides a framework for international cooperation.

The conservation of migratory marine species, including pelagic seabirds, is challenging because their movements span vast distances frequently beyond national jurisdictions. Here, we aim to identify important aggregations of seabirds in the North Atlantic to inform ongoing regional conservation efforts. Using tracking, phenology, and population data, we mapped the abundance and diversity of 21 seabird species. This revealed a major hotspot associated with a discrete area of the subpolar frontal zone, used annually by 2.9–5 million seabirds from ≥56 colonies in the Atlantic: the first time this magnitude of seabird concentrations has been documented in the high seas. The hotspot is temporally stable and amenable to site‐based conservation and is under consideration as a marine protected area by the OSPAR Commission. Protection could help mitigate current and future threats facing species in the area. Overall, our approach provides an exemplar data‐driven pathway for future conservation efforts on the high seas.

This report describes the results from fieldwork carried out on breeding seabirds in Northeast Greenland as part of the Northeast Greenland Environmental Study Program. Results of GPS-tracking of Sabine’s gulls and ivory gulls are described, as well as surveys of thick-billed murre colonies and a variety of studies on little auks.

Dog ( Canis familiaris ) and sled remains found together suggest that the first sled dogs arose approximately 10,000 years ago ([ 1 ][1]). The ancestors to current sled dog breeds were essential to the Inuit's conquest of the Arctic. Sled dogs provided the main transport and hunting platform ([ 2 ][

Upwelling regions are highly productive habitats targeted by wide-ranging marine predators and industrial fisheries. In this study, we track the migratory movements of eight seabird species from across the Atlantic; quantify overlap with the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) and determine the habitat characteristics that drive this association. Our results indicate the CCLME is a biodiversity hotspot for migratory seabirds; all tracked species and more than 70% of individuals used this upwelling region. Relative species richness peaked in areas where sea surface temperature averaged between 15 and 20°C, and correlated positively with chlorophylla, revealing the optimum conditions driving bottom-up trophic effects for seabirds. Marine vertebrates are not confined by international boundaries, making conservation challenging. However, by linking diversity to ocean productivity, our research reveals the significance of the CCLME for seabird populations from across the Atlantic, making it a priority for conservation action.

Large population declines were reported for the thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) in Greenland for the period 1930s–1980s, but no national status has been published for the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the murres have gained more protection and several human-induced mortality factors have been markedly reduced. Here, we give an updated status based on the past 30 years of murre count data. The total Greenland population in 2011 was estimated to 468,300 birds (95 % CI 430,700–505,900) or around 342,000 breeding pairs, distributed within 19 colonies. This represents an overall reduction of 13 % since the mid-/late 1980s. In the same period, five colonies went extinct. Large and apparently stable colonies in Qaanaaq (Northwest Greenland) account for more than half the population (68 %), but most other colonies declined heavily, with up to 6 % p.a. in the most critical areas. So far, nothing indicates that food is a limiting factor in Greenland during the breeding season, although rather few colonies have been studied in details. In contrast, illegal hunting and disturbances during the breeding season are still a problem in Greenland, despite more restrictive hunting regulations, and may explain much of the continued population decline. In addition, recent studies from Svalbard indicate that a large-scale deterioration of the marine environment in the North Atlantic, due to oceanographic changes, may impact recruitment to some of the Greenland colonies. Murre colonies in southern Upernavik, Disko Bay, South Greenland and East Greenland are in urgent need of additional conservation initiatives to avoid further declines and local extinctions.

The migrations and winter distributions of most seabirds, particularly small pelagic species, remain poorly understood despite their potential as indicators of marine ecosystem health. Here we report the use of miniature archival light loggers (geolocators) to track the annual migration of Sabine’s GullLarus sabini, a small (c.200 g) Arctic‐breeding larid. We describe their migratory routes and identify previously unknown staging sites in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as their main Atlantic wintering area in the southern hemisphere. Sabine’s Gulls breeding in northeast Greenland displayed an average annual migration of almost 32 000 km (n = 6), with the longest return journey spanning close to 39 000 km (not including local movements at staging sites or within the wintering area). On their southern migration, they spent an average of 45 days in the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Sea, off the coasts of France, Spain and Portugal. They all wintered in close association with the cold waters of the Benguela Upwelling, spending an average of 152 days in that area. On their return north, Sabine’s Gulls staged off the west African coast (Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal), spending on average 19 days at this site. This leg of migration was particularly rapid, birds travelling an average of 813 km/day, assisted by the prevailing winds. Sabine’s Gulls generally followed a similar path on their outbound and return migrations, and did not exhibit the broad figure‐of‐eight pattern (anti clockwise in the southern hemisphere and clockwise in the northern hemisphere) seen in other trans‐equatorial seabirds in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Seabirds are important components in marine ecosystems. However, knowledge of their ecology and spatial distribution during the non-breeding season is poor. More investigations during this critical period are required urgently, as marine environments are expected to be profoundly affected by climate change and human activities, with both direct and indirect consequences for marine top predators. Here, we studied the distribution of little auks (Alle alle), one of the most abundant seabird species worldwide. We found that after the breeding season, birds from East Greenland quickly travelled north-east to stay for several weeks within a restricted area in the Greenland Sea. Activity patterns indicated that flying behaviour was much reduced during this period, suggesting that this is the primary moulting region for little auks. Birds then performed a southerly migration to overwinter off Newfoundland. These preliminary results provide important information for the conservation of this species and emphasise the need for further studies at a larger spatial scale.

Arctic Terns show large variations in colony attendance between breeding seasons, making comparable counts of colony size complex and population status estimates difficult. Here, three areas in two regions of Greenland were surveyed in consecutive breeding seasons between 2002 and 2009. Between-year variation in population size in the small and mid-sized Arctic Tern colonies in West Greenland was considerable (mean CV of individual colonies 117.5%, CV of total 49.6%). In the largest colony in Greenland, Kitsissunnguit, overall colony size showed minor variations (CV 14.6%), but variation in numbers was pronounced at the sub-colony level (mean CV 47.4%). When combining the surveyed colonies in West Greenland, the total population size varied little (CV 6.7%) and less than expected if colonies fluctuated independently (P= 0.023), indicating that local movements between the colonies took place and annual variation was linked to local rather than to large-scale phenomena. In Northeast Greenland, complete breeding failure, likely caused by Arctic Fox, was recorded in two out of four seasons. Future Greenland Arctic Tern colony monitoring should either 1) survey multiple colonies within the same season covering adjoining colonies over a larger area, or 2) survey one large, representative colony M multiple years in order to track potential changes in population size. Received 15 March 2010, accepted 19 May 2010.

Copepods are essential components of marine food webs worldwide. In the North Atlantic, they are thought to perform vertical migration and to remain at depths more than 500 m during winter. We challenge this concept through a study of the winter feeding ecology of little auks ( Alle alle ), a highly abundant planktivorous seabird from the North Atlantic. By combining stable isotope and behavioural analyses, we strongly suggest that swarms of copepods are still available to their predators in water surface layers (less than 50 m) during winter, even during short daylight periods. Using a new bioenergetic model, we estimate that the huge number (20–40 million birds) of little auks wintering off southwest Greenland consume 3600–7200 tonnes of copepods daily, strongly suggesting substantial zooplankton stocks in surface waters of the North Atlantic in the middle of the boreal winter.

The study of long-distance migration provides insights into the habits and performance of organisms at the limit of their physical abilities. The Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea is the epitome of such behavior; despite its small size (<125 g), banding recoveries and at-sea surveys suggest that its annual migration from boreal and high Arctic breeding grounds to the Southern Ocean may be the longest seasonal movement of any animal. Our tracking of 11 Arctic terns fitted with miniature (1.4-g) geolocators revealed that these birds do indeed travel huge distances (more than 80,000 km annually for some individuals). As well as confirming the location of the main wintering region, we also identified a previously unknown oceanic stopover area in the North Atlantic used by birds from at least two breeding populations (from Greenland and Iceland). Although birds from the same colony took one of two alternative southbound migration routes following the African or South American coast, all returned on a broadly similar, sigmoidal trajectory, crossing from east to west in the Atlantic in the region of the equatorial Intertropical Convergence Zone. Arctic terns clearly target regions of high marine productivity both as stopover and wintering areas, and exploit prevailing global wind systems to reduce flight costs on long-distance commutes.

This review Summarizes breeding records of Ross's gull in Greenland with special emphasis on the period between 1979 and 2007. The review comprises both previously published records (including some published only in Danish) and unpublished reports and breeding records from 2004 and 2006. The majority of the Greenland breeding records fall into two geographically isolated areas that differ in habitat and climate: the Disko Bay area in West Greenland and the Northeast Water Polynya in Northeast Greenland. Despite the fact that antagonistic interactions with arctic terns are common, Ross's gulls show a nest site preference for the edge of tern colonies. suggesting breeding association between these species. A general increase in breeding records in Greenland since 1978 is most likely the result of increased ornithological effort. Successful breeding has not yet been confirmed. and a Ross's gull fledgling remains to be seen in Greenland. The Greenland breeding records suggest an opportunistic strategy in choice of breeding site among vagrant and possibly first-time breeders.

Interpreting the impact of environmental change on food webs requires a clear understanding of predator–prey interactions. Such knowledge is often lacking in the marine environment where the foraging behaviour and prey requirements of some of the major top-predators remains mysterious. For example, very little is known about the underwater foraging behaviour of the little auk, the most numerous seabird in the North Atlantic. In 2004, we used time–depth-recorders at two breeding colonies in East Greenland to examine the diving behaviour of this small, planktivorous seabird during the chick-rearing period. Due to technical difficulties data were only collected for four individuals, but recordings showed that birds dive up to 240 times a day to maximum depths of 27 m (average 10 m), with maximum dive durations of 90 s (average 52 s). In addition, we collected the chick meals from 35 individuals, which were dominated by Calanus copepods (95%), and also determined the field metabolic rates (FMR) of 14 individuals using the doubly labelled water technique, which averaged 609.9 kJ day−1. We integrated information on diving duration with chick diet and FMR to estimate the prey requirements and underwater capture rates of little auks using a Monte Carlo simulation. Chick-rearing little auks needed to catch about 59,800 copepods day−1, which is equivalent to about six copepods caught per second spent underwater. These astonishing results strongly suggest that little auks are, at least partly, filter-feeding, and underline the importance of highly productive, cool marine areas that harbour dense patches of large, energy-rich copepods.

Temporal trends of mercury (Hg) in West Greenland gyrfalcons, peregrine falcons, and white-tailed eagles were determined over 150 years from 1851 to 2003. Hg was measured in the fifth primary feather. Results showed that Hg increased in the order gyrfalcon (lowest) < peregrine falcon (intermediate) < white-tailed eagle (highest). All species showed significant age accumulations, which were taken into account in the temporal trend analysis. Of eight time trend analyses (three species and three age groups of which one was missing), seven showed an increase in primary feather concentrations. Of these, four were significant at the 5% level, two were close to being significant, and one was not significant. The linear regressions of which three out of four showed significant increases were for juvenile and immature gyrfalcon and juvenile peregrine falcon, which covered only periods prior to 1960, owing to limited data from the last half-century. The two sample comparisons of Hg 10-year medians for adult peregrine falcons and juvenile and adult white-tailed eagles indicated a continued increase during recent decades. However, low levels of Hg in a few recent collections among gyrfalcons and peregrines could indicate a change in the increasing trend.

The Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) is a rare species in west Greenland, where it generally breeds on islands in association with the Arctic Tern (Sterna, paradisaea). The strength of this association was confirmed on the archipelago of Gronne Ejland, the largest tern colony in Greenland, where Arctic Terns inhabited all four major islands until 15 years ago, but now have abandoned two of them; the Red Phalarope left the same two islands after a few years, but not the islands still inhabited by terns. The terns apparently disappeared from the two islands due to the presence of Arctic Foxes (Alopex lagopus) over several years. The disappearance of the Red Phalarope could have been a response to the absence of breeding terns, or could have happened as a direct result of predation and disturbance from foxes. The Red-necked Phalarope (P. lobatus), however, still breeds on the islands abandoned by the terns. It might be that the Red Phalarope is snore vulnerable to fox predation than the Red-necked Phalarope, which may partly explain why the former of the two species in west Greenland breeds only in tern colonies on islands, whereas the latter is widely distributed, including inland areas.

This paper presents a technique to estimate little auk population size from the area of the colonies measured by the use of video recordings and aerial photographs. To transform colony area into population size, breeding densities obtained from the literature were used. The study area, Northumberland Island, Thule District, Northwest Greenland, revealed between 6 and 12 million km(2) inhabited colony area, which was classified into three categories for colony identification. The lower figure of this estimate is equivalent to a little auk population of 4.6 million pairs. An extrapolation to the rest of the Thule District should be treated with care but would amount to at least 33 million pairs. There is no doubt that the methods used would benefit from more fine-scale ground-truth surveys in the Thule District.

Numbers of Greenland White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons flavirostris in two Ramsar-sites in West Greenland seemed to be unaffected of increasing numbers of Canada Geese Branta canadensis.