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

• Published in: Communications biology Vol. 7; no. 1; p. 307
• Main Authors: Podolskiy, Evgeny A., Ogawa, Monica, Thiebot, Jean-Baptiste, Johansen, Kasper L., Mosbech, Anders
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 15.03.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/158/856; 631/1647/48; Acoustic tracking; Acoustics; Alle alle; Animals; Arctic Regions; Behavior, Animal; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Birds; Breeding; Charadriiformes; Foraging behavior; Greenland; Humans; Life Sciences; Predators; Arctic Regions; Greenland; Arctic region
• ISSN: 2399-3642; 2399-3642
• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-05954-8

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. Microphone data from Greenland suggest that a colony of a key Arctic-breeding seabird, the little auk, bursts with acoustic excitement at night, under the midnight sun. The study highlights that acoustics is a promising monitoring tool.