Flexibility of little auks foraging in various oceanographic features in a changing Arctic

Using GPS-tracked individuals, we compared foraging ecology and reproductive output of a High-Arctic zooplanktivorous seabird, the little auk Alle alle, between three years differing in environmental conditions (sea surface temperature). Despite contrasting environmental conditions, average foraging fights distance and duration were generally similar in all studied years. Also, in all years foraging locations visited by the little auk parents during short trips (ST, for chick provisioning) were significantly closer to the colony compared to those visited during long trips (LTs, mainly for adults’ self-maintenance). Nevertheless, we also found some differences in the little auk foraging behaviour: duration of LTs was the longest in the coldest year suggesting more time for resting for adults compared to warmer years. Besides, birds foraged closer to the colony and in significantly colder water in the coldest year. Interestingly, these differences did not affect chick diet: in all the years, the energy content of food loads was similar, with the Arctic copepod, Calanus glacialis copepodite stage V being the most preferred prey item (>73% of items by number and >67% by energy content). Also chick survival was similar in all the study years. However, when examining chicks growth rate we found that their peak body mass was lower in warmer years suggesting that overall conditions in the two warm years were less favourable. While our results, demonstrate a great foraging flexibility by little auks, they also point out their vulnerability to changing environmental conditions.