Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Within and between species competition in a seabird community: statistical exploration and modeling of time-series data

  • Population ecology - Original research
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In a changing environment, the maintenance of communities is subject to many constraints (phenology, resources, climate, etc.). One such constraint is the relationship between conspecifics and competitors. In mixed colonies, seabirds may have to cope with interspecific and intraspecific competition for both space and food resources. We applied competitive interaction models to data on three seabird breeding populations: black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), common guillemot (Uria aalge) and Brünnich’s guillemot (Uria lomvia) collected over 27-years at Kharlov Island in the Barents Sea. We found a competitive effect only for the kittiwake breeding population size on the common guillemot breeding population size when kittiwakes were abundant. The timing of kittiwake breeding negatively affected the number of breeding Brünnich’s guillemots. The timing of breeding was negatively correlated to biomass of the main pelagic fish in the Barents Sea, the capelin (Mallotus villosus), which suggests an indirect action. The community matrix shows that the community was not stable. The kittiwake population did not decrease as seen in north Norwegian populations. Likewise, the common guillemot population, after a crash in 1985, was recovering at Kharlov while Norwegian populations were decreasing. Only the Brünnich’s guillemot showed a decrease at Kharlov until 1999. We suggest that the stability of the kittiwake and common guillemot populations at Kharlov is due to better feeding conditions than in colonies of the Norwegian coast, linked to a possible eastward shift of the capelin population with the temperature increase of the Barents Sea.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andersen T, Carstensen J, Hernandez-Garcia E, Duarte CM (2009) Ecological thresholds and regime shifts: approaches to identification. Trends Ecol Evol 24:49–57

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anker-Nilssen T, Bakken V, Strøm H, Golovkin AN, Bianki VV, Tatarinkoa IP (2000) The status of marine birds breeding in the Barents Sea region. Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashbrook K, Wanless S, Harris MP, Hamer KC (2010) Impacts of poor food availability on positive density dependence in a highly colonial seabird. Proc R Soc Lond B 277:2355–2360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett RT (2007) Food web interactions in the southwestern Barents Sea: black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla respond negatively to an increase in herring Clupea harengus. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 349:269–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett RT, Krasnov YV (1996) Recent responses to changes in stocks of prey species by seabirds breeding in the southern Barents Sea. ICES J Mar Sci 53:713–722

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett RT, Bakken V, Krasnov JV (1997) The diets of common and Brünnich’s guillemots Uria aalge and U. lomvia in the Barents Sea region. Polar Res 16:73–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulinier T, Danchin E (1996) Population trends in Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla colonies in relation to tick infestation. Ibis 138:326–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulinier T, McCoy KD, Yoccoz NG, Gasparini J, Tveraa T (2008) Public information affects breeding dispersal in a colonial bird: kittiwakes cue on neighbours. Biol Lett 4:538–540

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brander KM (2010) Cod Gadus morhua and climate change: processes, productivity and prediction. J Fish Biol 77:1899–1911

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Camphuysen CJ, Scott BE, Wanless S (2006) Distribution and foraging interactions of seabirds and marine mammals in the North Sea: multispecies foraging assemblages and habitat-specific feeding strategies. In: Boyd IL, Wanless S, Camphuysen CJ (eds) Top predators in marine ecosystems: their role in monitoring and management. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 82–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Carscadden JE, Montevecchi WA, Davoren GK, Nakashima BS (2002) Trophic relationships among capelin (Mallotus villosus) and seabirds in a changing ecosystem. ICES J Mar Sci 59:1027–1033

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherel Y, Ducatez S, Fontaine C, Richard P, Guinet C (2008) Stable isotopes reveal the trophic position and mesopelagic fish diet of female southern elephant seals breeding on the Kerguelen Islands. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 370:239–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chesson P (2000) Mechanisms of maintenance of species diversity. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 31:343–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford RJM, Sabarros PS, Fairweather T, Underhill LG, Wolfaardt AC (2008) Implications for seabirds off South Africa of a long-term change in the distribution of sardine. Afr J Mar Sci 30:177–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Croxall JP, Rothery P (1991) Population regulation of seabirds: implications of their demography for conservation. In: Perrins CM, Lebreton J-D, Hirons GJM (eds) Bird population studies: relevance to conservation and management. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 272–296

    Google Scholar 

  • Danchin E, Boulinier T, Massot M (1998) Conspecific reproductive success and breeding habitat selection: implications for the study of coloniality. Ecology 79:2415–2428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davoren GK, Montevecchi WA (2003) Consequences of foraging trip duration on provisioning behaviour and fledging condition of common murres Uria aalge. J Avian Biol 34:44–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drinkwater KF et al (2010) On the processes linking climate to ecosystem changes. J Mar Syst 79:374–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durant JM, Anker-Nilssen T, Stenseth NC (2003) Trophic interactions under climate fluctuations: the Atlantic puffin as an example. Proc R Soc Lond B 270:1461–1466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durant JM, Stenseth NC, Anker-Nilssen T, Harris MP, Thompson P, Wanless S (2004) Marine birds and climate fluctuation in North Atlantic. In: Stenseth NC, Ottersen G, Hurrell JW, Belgrano A (eds) Marine ecosystems and climate variation: the North Atlantic. A comparative perspective. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 95–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Durant JM, Hjermann DØ, Ottersen G, Stenseth NC (2007) Climate and the match or mismatch between predator requirements and resource availability. Clim Res 33:271–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durant JM et al (2010) Influence of feeding conditions on breeding of African penguins—the importance of adequate local food supplies. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 420:263–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frederiksen M, Edwards M, Richardson AJ, Halliday NC, Wanless S (2006) From plankton to top predators: bottom-up control of a marine food web across four trophic levels. J Anim Ecol 75:1259–1268

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Furness RW, Birkhead TR (1984) Seabird colony distributions suggest competition for food supplies during the breeding season. Nature 311:655–656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furness RW, Tasker ML (2000) Seabird-fishery interactions: quantifying the sensitivity of seabirds to reductions in sandeel abundance, and identification of key areas for sensitive seabirds in the North Sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 202:253–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gjøsæter H (1998) The population biology and exploitation of capelin (Mallotus villosus) in the Barents Sea. Sarsia 83:453–496

    Google Scholar 

  • Gjøsæter H, Bogstad B, Tjelmeland S (2009) Ecosystem effects of the three capelin stock collapses in the Barents Sea. Mar Biol Res 5:40–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hjermann DO, Stenseth NC, Ottersen G (2004) Indirect climatic forcing of the Barents Sea capelin: a cohort effect. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 273:229–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hjermann DØ et al (2010) Trophic interactions affecting a key ecosystem component: a multi-stage analysis of the recruitment of the Barents Sea capelin. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 67:1363–1375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson PJ, Dobson AP, Newborn D (1998) Prevention of population cycles by parasite removal. Science 282:2256–2258

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hurrell J (1995) Decadal trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: regional temperatures and precipitations. Science 269:676–679

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hurrell JW, Kushnir Y, Ottersen G, Visbeck M (eds) (2003) The North Atlantic Oscillation: climate significance and environmental impact. American Geophysical Union, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Huse G, Ellingsen I (2008) Capelin migrations and climate change—a modelling analysis. Clim Change 87:177–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ICES (2006) Report of the Arctic Fisheries Working Group (AFWG), 19–28 April 2006, ICES Headquarters. ICES CM 2006/ACFM:25

  • Ives AR (1995) Predicting the response of populations to environmental-change. Ecology 76:926–941

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kokko H, Harris MP, Wanless S (2004) Competition for breeding sites and site-dependent population regulation in a highly colonial seabird, the common guillemot Uria aalge. J Anim Ecol 73:367–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs KM, Haug T, Lydersen C (2009) Seabirds in the Barents Sea. In: Sakshaug E, Johnsen G, Kovacs KM (eds) Ecosystem Barents Sea. Tapir, Trondheim

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasnov YV, Barrett RT (1995) Large-scale interactions among seabirds, their prey and humans in the southern Barents Sea. In: Skjoldal HR, Hopkins C, Erikstad KE, Leinaas HP (eds) Ecology of fjords and coastal waters. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 443–470

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasnov YV, Nikolaeva NG (1998) Some results of the multidisciplinary study of the kittiwake in the Barents Sea. In: Krasnov YV, Matishov GG, Galaktionov KV, Saninova TN (eds) Biology and oceanography of the Kara and Barents Seas (along the Northern marina route). KSC RAS, Apatity, pp 180–260

  • Krasnov YV, Matishov GG, Galaktionov KV, Savinova TN (1995) Morskiye kolonialniye ptitsi Murmana (The colonial seabirds of Murman). Nauka, St. Petersburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasnov YV, Barrett RT, Nikolaeva NG (2007a) Status of black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), common guillemots (Uria aalge) and Brunnich’s guillemots (U-lomvia) in Murman, north-west Russia, and Varanger, north-east Norway. Polar Res 26:113–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krasnov YV, Nikolaeva NG, Goryarev YI, Ezhov AV (2007b) Current status and population trends in the Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), Common (Uria aalge) and Brunnich’s (U. lomvia) guillemots at Kola Peninsula, European Russia. Ornithologia 34:65–75 (in Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lande R, Engen S, Sæther B-E (2003) Stochastic population dynamics in ecology and conservation. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lima M, Previtali MA, Meserve PL (2006) Climate and small rodent dynamics in semi-arid Chile: the role of lateral and vertical perturbations and intra-specific processes. Clim Res 30:125–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • López-Sepulcre A, Kokko H, Norris K (2010) Evolutionary conservation advice for despotic populations: habitat heterogeneity favours conflict and reduces productivity in Seychelles magpie robins. Proc R Soc Lond B 277:3477–3482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorentsen SH, Christensen-Dalsgaard S (2009) Det nasjonale overvåkingsprogrammet for sjøfugl. Resultater til og med hekkesesongen 2008. NINA Rapport 439:1–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Modestov VM (1967) The ecology of colonial nesting birds (based on observations on the Eastern Murman Coast and in the Volga river delta). Trans Kandalaksha State Reserv 5:49–154 (in Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Moe B et al (2009) Climate change and phenological responses of two seabird species breeding in the high-Arctic. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 393:235–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nikolaeva NG, Krasnov YV, Barrett RT (1996) Movements of common Uria aalge and Brünnich’s Guillemots U. lomvia breeding in the southern Barents Sea. Fauna Norveg Ser C Cinclus 19:9–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Oro D, Perez-Rodriguez A, Martinez-Vilalta A, Bertolero A, Vidal F, Genovart M (2009) Interference competition in a threatened seabird community: a paradox for a successful conservation. Biol Conserv 142:1830–1835

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ottersen G, Planque B, Belgrano A, Post E, Reid PC, Stenseth NC (2001) Ecological effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Oecologia 128:1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parmesan C, Yohe G (2003) A globally coherent fingerprint of climate change impacts across natural systems. Nature 421:37–42

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen OP, Tande KS, Pedersen T, Slagstad D (2009) Advection and retention as life trait modulators of capelin larvae—a case study from the Norwegian coast and the Barents Sea. Fish Res 97:234–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ronconi RA, Burger AE (2011) Foraging space as a limited resource: inter- and intra-specific competition among sympatric pursuit-diving seabirds. Can J Zool 89:356–368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig C et al (2008) Attributing physical and biological impacts to anthropogenic climate change. Nature 453:353–357

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sæther B-E et al (2005) Generation time and temporal scaling of bird population dynamics. Nature 436:99–102

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth NC, Mysterud A, Ottersen G, Hurrell JW, Chan KS, Lima M (2002) Ecological effects of climate fluctuations. Science 297:1292–1296

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth NC et al (2003) Studying climate effects on ecology through the use of climate indices: the North Atlantic Oscillation, El Niño Southern Oscillation and beyond. Proc R Soc Lond B 270:2087–2096

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vader W, Barrett RT, Erikstad KE, Strann K-B (1990) Differential responses of common and thick-billed murres to a crash in the capelin stock in the southern Barents Sea. Stud Avian Biol 14:175–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Viljugrein H, Stenseth NC, Smith GW, Steinbakk GH (2005) Density dependence in North American ducks. Ecology 86:245–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood SN, Augustin NH (2002) GAMs with integrated model selection using penalized regression splines and applications to environmental modelling. Ecol Model 157:157–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Funding was provided by the Norwegian Research Council (‘Fribio’ programme for supporting the “Mico” project). We are grateful to D.Ø. Hjermann for his help in the analysis and his advises. We thank C. Le Bohec, J.D. Whittington for their helpful comments, and F.N. Shklyarevich for help in collection of field materials. We also thank Knipovich Polar Institute of Marine Fishery and Oceanography (PINRO, Murmansk) for kindly letting us use the temperature data from the Kola transect. We are grateful to two anonymous referees for providing valuable comments to an earlier version of this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    J. M. Durant & N. C. Stenseth

  2. Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Vladimirskaya St. 17, Murmansk, 183010, Russian Federation

    Y. V. Krasnov

  3. WWF Russia, Nikoloyamskaya St. 19, Building 3, Moscow, 109240, Russian Federation

    N. G. Nikolaeva

  4. Institute of Marine Research, Flødevigen Marine Research Station, 4817, His, Norway

    N. C. Stenseth

Authors
  1. J. M. Durant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Y. V. Krasnov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. N. G. Nikolaeva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. N. C. Stenseth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. M. Durant.

Additional information

Communicated by Ola Olsson.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 161 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Durant, J.M., Krasnov, Y.V., Nikolaeva, N.G. et al. Within and between species competition in a seabird community: statistical exploration and modeling of time-series data. Oecologia 169, 685–694 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2226-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2226-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation