Monitoring ground-nesting seabirds in the Canadian Arctic:the Nasaruvaalik Island Field Station

The Nasaruvaalik Island field station in the high Arctic was established to facilitate research and monitoring on rare seabird species, largely to meet regulatory obligations defined in Canada’s Species At Risk Act. After building a small research facility at the site, investigations have not only s...

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Main Author: Mark L. Mallory
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2023-10-01
Series:Arctic Science
Online Access:https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/AS-2023-0031
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author Mark L. Mallory
author_facet Mark L. Mallory
author_sort Mark L. Mallory
collection DOAJ
description The Nasaruvaalik Island field station in the high Arctic was established to facilitate research and monitoring on rare seabird species, largely to meet regulatory obligations defined in Canada’s Species At Risk Act. After building a small research facility at the site, investigations have not only shed new insights on at-risk seabirds, but have: 1) provided new insights into movements and annual habitat needs of other ground-nesting seabirds; 2) shown effects of weather on seabird breeding effort and success; 3) determined contaminant concentrations in species that have generally been overlooked in Arctic pollution monitoring; and 4) have captured trends in local breeding populations that appear to mirror region-wide trends. However, the future of monitoring at the site is unclear, as safety concerns, considerations of new approaches to Arctic research, and monitoring priorities in a time of multiple environmental stressors may be shifting.
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spelling doaj.art-b918ee1dc7384de884ee94024dd713ae2023-10-17T21:36:55ZengCanadian Science PublishingArctic Science2368-74602023-10-0110.1139/AS-2023-0031Monitoring ground-nesting seabirds in the Canadian Arctic:the Nasaruvaalik Island Field StationMark L. Mallory0Acadia University, 8689, Department of Biology, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada;The Nasaruvaalik Island field station in the high Arctic was established to facilitate research and monitoring on rare seabird species, largely to meet regulatory obligations defined in Canada’s Species At Risk Act. After building a small research facility at the site, investigations have not only shed new insights on at-risk seabirds, but have: 1) provided new insights into movements and annual habitat needs of other ground-nesting seabirds; 2) shown effects of weather on seabird breeding effort and success; 3) determined contaminant concentrations in species that have generally been overlooked in Arctic pollution monitoring; and 4) have captured trends in local breeding populations that appear to mirror region-wide trends. However, the future of monitoring at the site is unclear, as safety concerns, considerations of new approaches to Arctic research, and monitoring priorities in a time of multiple environmental stressors may be shifting.https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/AS-2023-0031
spellingShingle Mark L. Mallory
Monitoring ground-nesting seabirds in the Canadian Arctic:the Nasaruvaalik Island Field Station
Arctic Science
title Monitoring ground-nesting seabirds in the Canadian Arctic:the Nasaruvaalik Island Field Station
title_full Monitoring ground-nesting seabirds in the Canadian Arctic:the Nasaruvaalik Island Field Station
title_fullStr Monitoring ground-nesting seabirds in the Canadian Arctic:the Nasaruvaalik Island Field Station
title_full_unstemmed Monitoring ground-nesting seabirds in the Canadian Arctic:the Nasaruvaalik Island Field Station
title_short Monitoring ground-nesting seabirds in the Canadian Arctic:the Nasaruvaalik Island Field Station
title_sort monitoring ground nesting seabirds in the canadian arctic the nasaruvaalik island field station
url https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/AS-2023-0031
work_keys_str_mv AT marklmallory monitoringgroundnestingseabirdsinthecanadianarcticthenasaruvaalikislandfieldstation