Acoustic monitoring reveals a diel rhythm of an arctic seabird colony (little auk, Alle alle)

Evgeny A. Podolskiy*, Monica Ogawa, Jean-Baptiste Thiebot, Kasper Lambert Johansen, Anders Mosbech

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The child-like question of why birds sing in the morning is difficult to answer, especially in polar regions. There, in summer animals live without the time constraints of daylight, and little is known about the rhythmicity of their routines. Moreover, in situ monitoring of animal behavior in remote areas is challenging and rare. Here, we use audio data from Greenland to show that a colony of a key Arctic-breeding seabird, the little auk (Alle alle), erupts with acoustic excitement at night in August, under the midnight sun. We demonstrate that the acoustic activity cycle is consistent with previous direct observations of the feeding and attendance patterns of the little auk. We interpret this pattern as reflecting their foraging activities, but further investigation on fledging and predators is needed. The study demonstrates that acoustic monitoring is a promising alternative to otherwise demanding manual observations of bird colonies in remote Arctic areas.

Original languageEnglish
Article number307
JournalCommunications Biology
Volume7
Issue1
Number of pages9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2024

Keywords

  • Animals
  • Arctic Regions
  • Behavior, Animal
  • Birds
  • Charadriiformes
  • Greenland
  • Humans

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