Conservation biology of the endangered Ivory Gull in Arctic Canada

Abstract

**Abstract:** The Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) is among the rarest seabirds. It is associated with sea-ice throughout the year and breeds at high latitudes in Arctic Canada, Greenland, Svalbard and the northern islands of Russia in the Barents and Kara seas. It nests in mainly small (i.e., 5 to 200 pairs), scattered colonies and there is growing international concern regarding declining population trends. In response, an international circumpolar ''Ivory Gull Conservation Strategy and Action Plan'' has been presented by the Arctic Council to generate new research into how this bird is responding to increases in the disappearance of sea ice habitat, natural resource exploration, and contaminants. Here we present recent findings from Canada. The Canadian population of Ivory Gulls has declined by 70 % since the 1980s at colonies that were known to exist before 2002. Recent aerial surveys conducted by us in 2019 indicate that the population has not recovered, and further, suggests that the breeding range of the species has contracted northward. Satellite tracking of Ivory Gulls from Arctic Canada shows that they migrate to winter in Davis Strait and Labrador Sea which has recently been confirmed as a key wintering area for the species in the Atlantic. As a top-predator and scavenger, the ivory gull is vulnerable to contaminants that concentrate through the food chain (biomagnifying contaminants). In Arctic Canada, the levels of pesticides in ivory gulls (including organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs), DDT and polychlorinated biphenyls (POPs)) and a heavy metal (mercury) are among the highest ever reported in arctic seabirds. **Authors:** Grant Gilchrist¹, Mark Mallory² ¹Government of Canada, ²Acadia University