CASE STUDY

The alcids, a family of birds (Alcidae), which include the razorbills, puffins, murres, and auklets, spend the majority of their lifetime in the open ocean feeding on plankton or fish, with only short periods of time spent on land to breed.

3 Alcids I

They occur exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere within Arctic, sub-Arctic, and boreal latitudes, and are some of the most widespread and numerous seabirds1

. Their main centre

of distribution, the Bering Sea, is one of the most important seabird areas in the world2 arctica), thick-billed murre2

(Uria aalge) have ranges exceeding 1,000,000 km2 in the millions or tens of millions of breeding pairs3,4

II

. The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula (Uria lomvia), and common murre and number .

The harvesting of alcids and other seabirds has a long tradition among coastal communities in the Arctic5,6

. It

forms an important component of subsistence lifestyles in Indigenous communities in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Russia6

. Alcids provide culturally important food for

communities in northern Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

. Populations of Atlantic puffin also may be declining, especially in Iceland where a large portion of the world population breeds4,7

. However, these declines do not

approach thresholds for the species’ to be classed of global conservation concern by the IUCN.

2. In Europe, murres are known as guillemots. 3. For the purposes of simplicity and clarity this chapter examines only a few, relatively well-known and studied of the twenty-two alcid species: the little auk, puffins, and murres. A review for the entire family of alcids is beyond the scope of this chapter.

58 PROTECTING ARCTIC BIODIVERSITY

Global populations of thick-billed murre and common murres are declining, although increases have occurred in some regions5

face a number of direct and indirect marine and terrestrial threats, which influence their survival and reproductive success. These include transboundary pollutants8,9 fisheries10,11

Threats Alcids3

of breeding sites/habitat14

, competition with fisheries for fish stocks12,13 , and unsustainable harvesting6

, by-catch mortality from , disturbance .

Climate change is an overarching threat. It amplifies existing problems and may possibly create new ones (such as disease and parasites) through changing the distribution of prey stocks and fisheries; extending oil and gas exploration, and shipping and tourism operations; and by altering the pattern of pollutant