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The invertebrate fauna of High Arctic seabird nests: the microarthropod community inhabiting nests on Spitsbergen, Svalbard

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Abstract

The invertebrate fauna of the nests of three seabird species, black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), common eider (Somateria mollissima) and glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), were sampled in Kongsfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The invertebrate community was species poor, consisting predominantly of the flea, Mioctenopsylla arctica arctica (Insecta: Siphonaptera), but with six species of oribatid mite (Acari: Oribatida), Diapterobates notatus, Oribatula tibialis, Ameronothrus lineatus, Hermannia reticulata, Trichoribates trimaculatus and Ceratoppia bipilis, plus an occasional mesostigmatid mite. No Collembola or ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) were observed. With the exception of M. arctica arctica, the fauna of seabird nests consisted of opportunistic microarthropod species rather than specialised nest-dwelling or bird parasitic species. Species diversity of soil oribatid mites was greater in nests of the common eider than compared to nests of the black-legged kittiwake, which may be related to the ground nesting behaviour of the common eiders. No rare or unusual microarthropod species for Svalbard were found in the seabird nests. The contentions that nests may facilitate microarthropod colonisation of High Arctic regions via bird phoresy by providing a high-quality habitat at the point of arrival, or that there might be a specialised microarthropod fauna exploiting this habitat, were not supported in this study. These are amongst the first data on the microarthropod community of seabird nests in the High Arctic.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the MariClim (165112/S30) and COPOL (176073/S30) projects for assistance in access to the nests, Gry Gasbjerg during the fieldwork and María Luisa Ávila Jiménez in the laboratory. Malin Daase assisted with the preparation of Fig. 1. Adult fleas were kindly identified by Dr. Robert E. Lewis. We also thank the BIRDHEALTH (176046/S30) project for assistance in accessing the nests.

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Author notes

  1. B. Moe

    Present address: Arctic Ecology Department, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Polarmiljøsenteret, 9296, Tromsø, Norway

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Arctic Biology, University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), P.O. Box 156, 9171, Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway

    S. J. Coulson

  2. Department of Biology, NTNU, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    B. Moe

  3. 37 Hillfoot Road, Liverpool, L25 7UJ, UK

    F. Monson

  4. Norwegian Polar Institute, Polarmiljøsenteret, 9296, Tromsø, Norway

    G. W. Gabrielsen

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  1. S. J. Coulson
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  4. G. W. Gabrielsen
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Correspondence to S. J. Coulson.

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Coulson, S.J., Moe, B., Monson, F. et al. The invertebrate fauna of High Arctic seabird nests: the microarthropod community inhabiting nests on Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Polar Biol 32, 1041–1046 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0603-8

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