Consequences of cross‐season demographic correlations for population viability

Demographic correlations are pervasive in wildlife populations and can represent important secondary drivers of population growth. Empirical evidence suggests that correlations are in general positive for long-lived species, but little is known about the degree of variation among spatially segregated populations of the same species in relation to environmental conditions. We assessed the relative importance of two cross-season correlations in survival and productivity, for three Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) populations with contrasting population trajectories and non-overlapping year-round distributions. The two correlations reflected either a relationship between adult survival prior to breeding on productivity, or a relationship between productivity and adult survival the subsequent year. Demographic rates and their correlations were estimated with an integrated population model, and their respective contributions to variation in population growth were calculated using a transient-life table response experiment. For all three populations, demographic correlations were positive at both time lags, although their strength differed. Given the different year-round distributions of these populations, this variation in the strength population-level demographic correlations points to environmental conditions as an important driver of demographic variation through life-history constraints. Consequently, the contributions of variances and correlations in demographic rates to population growth rates differed among puffin populations, which has implications for—particularly small—populations' viability under environmental change as positive correlations tend to reduce the stochastic population growth rate

Seabirds reveal mercury distribution across the North Atlantic

Author contributionsC.A. and J.F. designed research; C.A., B. Moe, A.T., S.D., V.S.B., B. Merkel, J.Å., and J.F. performed research; C.A., B. Moe, M.B.-F., A.T., S.D., V.S.B., B. Merkel, J.Å., J.L., C.P.-P., and J.F. analyzed data; C.A., B.M., V.S.B., and J.F. sample and data collection, data coordination and management, statistical methodology; H.S. sample and data contribution and Data coordination and management; D.G., M.B.-F., F. Amélineau, F. Angelier, T.A.-N., O.C., S.C.-D., J.D., K.E., K.E.E., A.E., G.W.G., M.G., S.A.H., H.H.H., M.K.J., Y. Kolbeinsson, Y. Krasnov, M.L., J.L., S.-H.L., B.O., A.P., C.P.-P., T.K.R., G.H.S., P.M.T., T.L.T., and P.B. sample and data contribution; A.T., P.F. and S.D. sample and data contribution and statistical methodology; J.Å. statistical methodology; J.F. supervision; and C.A., B. Moe, H.S., D.G., A.T., S.D., V.S.B., B. Merkel, J.Å., F. Amélineau, F. Angelier, T.A.-N., O.C., S.C.-D., J.D., K.E., K.E.E., A.E., P.F., G.W.G., M.G., S.A.H., H.H.H., Y. Kolbeinsson, Y. Krasnov, S.-H.L., B.O., A.P., T.K.R., G.H.S., P.M.T., T.L.L., P.B., and J.F. wrote the paper.Peer reviewe

Connecting the data landscape of long-term ecological studies: The SPI-Birds data hub

The integration and synthesis of the data in different areas of science is drastically slowed and hindered by a lack of standards and networking programmes. Long-term studies of individually marked animals are not an exception. These studies are especially important as instrumental for understanding evolutionary and ecological processes in the wild. Furthermore, their number and global distribution provides a unique opportunity to assess the generality of patterns and to address broad-scale global issues (e.g. climate change). To solve data integration issues and enable a new scale of ecological and evolutionary research based on long-term studies of birds, we have created the SPI-Birds Network and Database (www.spibirds.org)\u2014a large-scale initiative that connects data from, and researchers working on, studies of wild populations of individually recognizable (usually ringed) birds. Within year and a half since the establishment, SPI-Birds has recruited over 120 members, and currently hosts data on almost 1.5 million individual birds collected in 80 populations over 2,000 cumulative years, and counting. SPI-Birds acts as a data hub and a catalogue of studied populations. It prevents data loss, secures easy data finding, use and integration and thus facilitates collaboration and synthesis. We provide community-derived data and meta-data standards and improve data integrity guided by the principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR), and aligned with the existing metadata languages (e.g. ecological meta-data language). The encouraging community involvement stems from SPI-Bird's decentralized approach: research groups retain full control over data use and their way of data management, while SPI-Birds creates tailored pipelines to convert each unique data format into a standard format. We outline the lessons learned, so that other communities (e.g. those working on other taxa) can adapt our successful model. Creating community-specific hubs (such as ours, COMADRE for animal demography, etc.) will aid much-needed large-scale ecological data integration

The decline of Norwegian kittiwake populations: modelling the role of ocean warming.

The black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla is a pelagic seabird whose population has recently declined in most parts of the North Atlantic and which is red-listed in most bordering countries. To investigate a possible cause for this decline, we analysed the population dynamics of 5 kittiwake colonies along the Norwegian coast, ranging from 62° to 71° N, over the last 20 to 35 yr. By quantifying the importance of sea surface temperatures (SST) in relevant areas of the North Atlantic, we tested the importance of climatic conditions throughout the populations’ annual cycles. We found no synchrony among colonies; however, SST affected population dynamics, explaining between 6% and 37% (average 18%) of the variation in annual population growth rate. While dynamics of the southerly colonies were mainly affected by winter conditions in the Grand Banks area, dynamics of the northernmost colonies were dominated by autumn conditions off Svalbard. Negative slopes indicated stronger population decline under warmer ocean conditions. Population dynamics were affected both via adult survival and offspring recruitment, as evidenced by the presence of unlagged effects as well as effects lagged by the age at recruitment. Finally, we performed population viability analyses taking into account the projected warming trends for the future. The median time to extinction of the Norwegian colonies was 52 to 181 yr without considering covariates; 45 to 94 yr when considering the effects of SST but ignoring future warming; and 10 to 48 yr when ocean warming, based on a ‘business as usual’ scenario, was taken into account. Global warming · Non-breeding distribution · Population dynamics · Population viability analysis · Rissa tridactyla · Sea surface temperatur

Cod larvae abundances

Abundances and weights of cod larvae from different spawning grounds around the guillemot colony at Hornøya, by date and yea

Guillemot measurements

Biometry, phenology and CORT measurements of adult and juvenile common guillemots on Hornøy

A risk assessment of the effects of mercury on Baltic Sea, Greater North Sea and North Atlantic wildlife, fish and bivalves

A wide range of species, including marine mammals, seabirds, birds of prey, fish and bivalves, were investigated for potential population health risks resulting from contemporary (post 2000) mercury (Hg) exposure, using novel risk thresholds based on literature and de novo contamination data. The main geographic focus is on the Baltic Sea, while data from the same species in adjacent waters, such as the Greater North Sea and North Atlantic, were included for comparative purposes. For marine mammals, 23% of the groups, each composing individuals of a specific sex and maturity from the same species in a specific study region, showed Hg-concentrations within the High Risk Category (HRC) and Severe Risk Category (SRC). The corresponding percentages for seabirds, fish and bivalves were 2.7%, 25% and 8.0%, respectively, although fish and bivalves were not represented in the SRC.publishedVersio

Parus major Genome sequencing and assembly

Seasonal timing is a key life-history trait with major fitness consequences. The small songbird Parus major (great tit) for decades has been a model to study fitness traits like e.g. avian timing of reproduction. The research is closely linked to the impact of global climate change on timing and its consequences. Linking quantitative genetic variation in life-history traits with polymorphisms in specific genes is essential for better understanding the causes and consequences of the diversity in these traits. Genetic variation in life-history traits in wild songbirds has been demonstrated in many, often long-term, studies throughout the world. Linking this variation to genomic information requires the development of the necessary genomics tools specifically aimed at these non-model species. The assembly and annotation of the genome of the great tit will greatly enhance the further use of the great tit as a model species in this research field