The diet of high-arctic seabirds in coastal and ice-covered, pelagic areas near the Svalbard archipelago

Food samples from six high-arctic seabird species were collected during spring and summer seasons between 1982 and 1990 in the Svalbard region. The material came from coastal localities on the island of Spitsbergen and the marginal ice zone in eastern Svalbard waters. Polar cod Boreogadus saida was the most frequently occurring prey in the ice-covered areas. Analysis of otoliths showed that most polar cod were one-or two-year olds. These year classes are known to associate with sea ice. Other ice-associated (sympagic) organisms, such as gammarid amphipods, were not found to be of high importance as prey for seabirds in the study area. However, the sea ice occurring in the area was mainly one year old. Such ice contains a less developed sympagic fauna than multi-year ice. The pelagic amphipod Parathemisto libellula , which is not sympagic but occurs in the water column, was also found to be an important prey in the marginal ice zone, especially for the Briinnich's guillemot Uria lomuia . The smallest of the seabird species studied, the little auk Alle alle , differed from the other five species in its diet, preying mainly upon smaller items such as copepods and young stages of amphipods, euphausiids and decapods. The diet of the various seabird species was in general more diverse in the coastal areas than in the marginal ice zone.     

Small mammals from the Koren Arctic Expedition to the Kolyma River, northeast Siberia 1914-1918

A small mammal collection from the Kolyma region in northeastern Siberia collected by the Norwegian trapper and naturalist Johan Koren between 1915 and 1917 comprises 152 specimens of 17 species. The collection was brought to Norway with Roald Amundsen's "Maud" expedition through the Northeast Passage and has been held by the Zoological Museum, University of Oslo.
When comparing the collection with the current distribution of small mammals in the region, it is not possible to detect changes in the small mammal fauna. As several species which are common today are missing in the collection, the collection apparently does not give a complete account of the small mammal fauna in the Kolyma region from 1915 to 1917. This discrepancy can largely be explained by the fact that Koren caught small mammals only in parts of the Kolyma region and not in those areas where the missing species are found in abundance.     

Microclimate of the nest and egg water loss of the Eider Somateria mollissima and other waterfowl in Spitsbergen

Temperature gradients in the nest and within the egg. nest humidity as well as eggshell conductance and rate of egg water loss of the Eider Somateria mollissima and other waterfowl were studied at Ny-Alesund. Spitsbergen (78°55'N latitude). These studies suggest a specific interrelationship between eggshell conductance and maintenance of an appropriate temperature and humidity environment of the nest, resulting in an egg water loss rate which is optimal for hatching success. In spite of low ambient temperatures of less than 3°C and very low absolute humidities of less than 4 torr (similar to those found in hot deserts). the nest's microclimate and rate of water loss were similar to those reported for nests and eggs in temperate climates.     

Seabird distribution in the northern Barents Sea marginal ice-zone during late summer

The abundance of five seabird species in ice-covered parts of the northern Barents Sea in late summer 1982 was analysed in relation to differences in sea-ice coverage. The dominant species was the Little Auk Alle alle. Differences between the seabird species in the use of the sea-ice habitat are partly explained by differences in their feeding ecology, and, for alcid species, by the need for open water for getting airborne. All species, except for the Fulmar Pulmonis gtacialis , took as part of their diet organisms associated with the subsurface of the sea-ice. The Little Auk fed mainly on large copepods and pelagic amphipods, and was observed mainly in areas with low ice-cover where such zooplankters are abundant.