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dc.contributor.authorMacKenzie, Kirsteen M.
dc.contributor.authorLydersen, Christian
dc.contributor.authorHaug, Tore
dc.contributor.authorRoutti, Heli Anna Irmeli
dc.contributor.authorAars, Jon
dc.contributor.authorAndvik, Clare Margaret
dc.contributor.authorBorgå, Katrine
dc.contributor.authorFisk, A.T.
dc.contributor.authorMeier, Sonnich
dc.contributor.authorBiuw, Martin
dc.contributor.authorLowther, Andrew
dc.contributor.authorLindstrøm, Ulf Ove
dc.contributor.authorKovacs, Kit M.
dc.date.accessioned2022-05-13T09:16:21Z
dc.date.available2022-05-13T09:16:21Z
dc.date.issued2022-02-11
dc.description.abstractThe Arctic is warming rapidly, with concomitant sea ice losses and ecosystem changes. The animals most vulnerable to Arctic food web changes are long-lived and slow-growing such as marine mammals, which may not be able to adapt rapidly enough to respond to changes in their resource bases. To determine the current extent and sources of these resource bases, we examined isotopic and trophic niches for marine mammals in the European Arctic using skin carbon (δ<sup>13</sup>C) and nitrogen (δ <sup>15</sup>N) stable isotope (SI) compositions from 10 species: blue, fin, humpback, minke, sperm and white whales, bearded and ringed seals, walruses and polar bears, and dietary fatty acids (FAs) in polar bears, walruses and most of the whale species listed here. SI values showed clear species separation by trophic behaviour and carbon sources. Bearded seals, walruses and white whales had the smallest isotopic niches; these species are all resident High Arctic species and are likely to be particularly vulnerable to changes in Arctic ecosystems. We found clear separation between FA groupings driven by pelagic, benthic and planktonic/algal sources: pelagic FAs in all whales, benthic FAs in walruses, and copepod/algae/ dinoflagellate FAs in polar bears, with some polar bear compositions approaching those of the whales and walruses. There is strong niche partitioning between study species with minimal functional redundancy, which could impact Arctic ecosystem structure and connectivity if populations of these large nutrient vectors are reduced or lost.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMacKenzie, Lydersen, Haug, Routti, Aars, Andvik, Borgå, Fisk, Meier, Biuw, Lowther, Lindstrøm, Kovacs. Niches of marine mammals in the European Arctic. Ecological Indicators. 2022;136en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 2021475
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108661
dc.identifier.issn1470-160X
dc.identifier.issn1872-7034
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/25118
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.relation.journalEcological Indicators
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccessen_US
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2022 The Author(s)en_US
dc.titleNiches of marine mammals in the European Arcticen_US
dc.type.versionpublishedVersionen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen_US
dc.typePeer revieweden_US


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