Pratte Isabeau, Boadway Kelly A, Davis Shanti E, Maftei Mark, Mallory Mark L
Department of Biology, Acadia University, 15 University Drive, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, CanadaB4P 2R6; High Arctic Gull Research Group, 109 Kings Road, Bamfield, British Columbia, CanadaV0R 1B0.
High Arctic Gull Research Group , 109 Kings Road, Bamfield, British Columbia , Canada V0R 1B0.
R Soc Open Sci. 2017 Mar 22;4(3):160982. doi: 10.1098/rsos.160982. eCollection 2017 Mar.
High Arctic polynyas are predictable areas of open water, which offer long-distance migrant seabirds a reliable source of food during a period when they have to replenish and accumulate energy for reproduction. Investigating the interaction between species nesting sympatrically in the vicinity of polynyas should provide insights into the role that such oceanographic features play for pre-breeding seabirds. We used stable isotopes (δC and δN) to compare the diet of two ground-nesting seabirds, Sabine's gull () and Arctic tern (), nesting on an island adjacent to a recurring polynya in the Canadian high Arctic in 2008 and 2009. We show that, unlike Arctic terns, the diet of Sabine's gulls appears to include a non-negligible amount of terrestrially derived prey during early incubation, and that overall both species segregate their dietary niche during pre-laying and early incubation.
北冰洋高纬度地区的冰间湖是可预测的开阔水域区域，在长途迁徙海鸟必须为繁殖补充和积累能量的时期，为它们提供了可靠的食物来源。调查在冰间湖附近同域筑巢的物种之间的相互作用，应该能够深入了解这种海洋学特征对繁殖前海鸟所起的作用。我们使用稳定同位素（δC和δN）来比较2008年和2009年在加拿大北极高纬度地区一个反复出现的冰间湖附近的岛屿上筑巢的两种地面筑巢海鸟——三趾鸥（Sabine's gull）和北极燕鸥（Arctic tern）的饮食。我们发现，与北极燕鸥不同，三趾鸥的饮食在早期孵化期间似乎包含不可忽视的一部分陆地来源猎物，而且总体而言，这两个物种在产卵前和早期孵化期间会划分它们的饮食生态位。
