Long-Term Population Dynamics of Seabirds Breeding in the Western Part of the White Sea

• Published in: Biology bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vol. 50; no. 7; pp. 1464 - 1476
• Main Authors: Semashko, V. Y., Semashko, E. V., Tertitski, G. M., Cherenkov, A. E., Shutova, E. V., Tolmacheva, E. L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.12.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Archipelagoes; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Breeding; Cell Biology; Ecology; Islands; Life Sciences; Nature reserves; Population dynamics; Population studies; Predators; Trends; Zoology; White Sea; ruddy turnstone; common eider; European herring gull; Kandalaksha Nature Reserve; common gull; Solovetskii Archipelago; black guillemot; Eurasian oystercatcher
• ISSN: 1062-3590; 1608-3059
• DOI: 10.1134/S1062359023070221

The results of a comparison of the long-term population dynamics of seabirds breeding in the western part of the White Sea on both protected and unprotected islands are presented. A series of observations was conducted for more than 50 years in the Kandalaksha Nature Reserve and for more than 30 years in the Solovetskii Archipelago. The dynamics of the breeding part of the population were analyzed for six species occurring in both study areas. The population trends of the common eider Somateria mollissima , the European herring gull Larus argentatus , and the black guillemot Cepphus grylle , were the same in the two areas, while those of the Eurasian oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus , the common gull Larus canus , and the ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres differed. The uniform trends are due to similar natural conditions of the breeding and wintering grounds of the birds in the Solovetskii Archipelago and Kandalaksha Bay. The discrepancies are mostly associated with different protection regimes on the islands used for breeding, as well as with an increased pressure of both terrestrial and avian predators on seabird colonies in recent decades.