Marine birds and mammals foraging in the rapidly deglaciating Arctic fjord - numbers, distribution and habitat preferences

Abstract

Climate-induced glacier retreat is considered in the context of its reducing the sea-ice contact zone used by marine birds and mammals as important foraging grounds and may cause declines in their numbers. To test this hypothesis, a survey was conducted in diversified habitats of a rapidly deglaciating Arctic fjord in Svalbard. Of the fifteen seabird and four mammal species found, coastal surface-feeders prevailed over benthic-feeders and pelagic pursuit-divers. Deep tidewater glacier bays were used by the most numerous but least heterogeneous foraging community, in contrast to the shallow lagoons of coastline-terminating glaciers and deglaciated shorelines. After the 15 years of glaciers retreat documented in Hornsund, the sea-ice contact zone used by birds and mammals has not declined. On the contrary, the increasing freshwater supply from underwater glacial rivers raising zooplankton up to the surface, thus making it available to seabirds, enhances the attractiveness of tidewater glacier bays. Along with the stage of retreat, the importance of glacier bays as feeding grounds changes. Foraging conditions deteriorate when the glacier terminus reaches the coastline and the glacier bay becomes shallower. However, glacier retreat enlarges the area of littoral habitats accessible to benthophages. Glacier-related habitats situated close to colony are used as alternative/emergency feeding grounds by seabirds that normally forage outside the fjord. This is especially important during the chick-rearing period and also during bad weather conditions in the open sea. Our study demonstrates that, so far, the abundance and species diversity of seabirds foraging in the rapidly deglaciating Hornsund are both high, suggesting that they benefit from the current intensive glacier melt. However, with further climate change an apparent biodiversity paradox may occur. Here, overall biodiversity will increase but local diversity of pagophilic species will decline. Such nonlinear responses complicate the prediction of future polar ecosystem dynamics.