The purpose of the present study was to determine the link between planktivorous little auks ( Alle alle ) and their soil fertilization, the concentration of total, and different forms of phosphorus in the surface layer of the High Arctic soils and the vascular plant composition of the tundra vegetation. Samples of the surface soil layer (0–10 cm) were collected along three pairs of transects (affected and unaffected by little...

Colonial seabirds have adopted certain strategies to minimize breeding losses during fledging. This review focuses on the most numerous high-Arctic auks: Little Auk Alle alle and Brünnich’s Guillemot Uria lomvia . Colonies of Little Auks are usually situated farther from the sea than cliff-nesting guillemots. On departing the nest, Little Auk chicks are more advanced and can fly, while guillemot chicks, lacking flight feathers...

The Little Auk Alle alle is a small planktivorous auk breeding colonially in the High Arctic. Owing to its large population size and bi-environmental lifestyle, resulting in the large-scale transport of matter from sea to land, the Little Auk is one of the most important components of the marine and terrestrial ecosystems in the Arctic. As a result of globalization, which facilitates access to remote areas of the Earth, a grow...

The polar bear Ursus maritimus is one of the species most endangered by the rapidly declining sea–ice cover in the Arctic, which they use as a platform to hunt fatty, high-energy seals. In recent decades, more polar bears have been forced to remain longer on land, so their access to seals is limited. The importance of terrestrial food to polar bears is disputable, and more data are needed. Terrestrial ungulates could be an att...

To monitor the rapid changes occurring in Arctic ecosystems and predict their direction, basic information about the current number and structure of the main components of these systems is necessary. Using boat-based surveys, we studied the numbers and distribution of seabirds foraging in Hornsund (SW Spitsbergen) during three summer seasons. The average number of seabirds foraging concurrently in the whole fjord was estimated...