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Abstract:
The countries party to SEATRACK host large and internationally important populations of several seabird species, many of which have experienced negative population trends over recent decades. Many seabird species are spread over vast oceanic areas for most of the year and only aggregate on land during the breeding season. Consequently, little is known about many aspects of their life away from the breeding grounds leaving large gaps in our knowledge and understanding of seabird life-histories.
Development of small and lightweight instruments, so-called light-logger or GLS (global location sensor) technology has now provided scientists with the means to monitor bird movements throughout the year on a much greater scale than before. The loggers primarily record light levels which, in relation to time of year and day, can be used to calculate twice daily positions of an individual within a radius of approximately 180 km. SEATRACK is utilizing the full potential of light-logger technology with a large-scale coordinated and targeted effort encompassing a representative choice of species, colonies and sample sizes. Such data will help researchers to identify:
- The most important moulting areas, migration routes and wintering areas for different seabird populations.
- The size and the composition of seabird populations during the non-breeding season.
- What environmental threats the different populations face.
- The origin of birds (i.e. the breeding population) that will be affected in acute incidents such as oil spills, mass mortality due to starvation or drowning in fishing gear.
- The different environmental conditions characterizing the different habitats occupied by Norwegian seabirds, how these change over time, and how they are reflected in the population dynamics and demography in the colonies
- Responses to climate change and how this affects the different populations.
Seabird migration patterns and non-breeding distribution have repeatedly been highlighted, by several social sectors as being some of the most important knowledge gaps, needed to be filled for effective management of seabird populations. SEATRACK intends to provide that information by producing:
- Distribution maps and population origin maps. Documenting the area use during the non-breeding season, including moulting areas, migration routes and wintering areas for different seabird populations over a three-year period. Estimating the size and the composition/colony origin of populations during the non-breeding season.
- Research articles about I) variation in migration strategies and the environmental factors underlying this variation, II) migration strategies and seabird demography/population dynamics, III) seabird migration strategies, human activities and marine spatial planning