Sea Birds as Proxies of Marine Habitats and Food Webs in the Western Aleutian Arc
- Authors: A.M. Springer, J.F. Piatt, and G. Van Vliet
- Pub. no.: RP-96-03
- Year: 1996
- No. pages: 11
- Price: Single copies free
Description
A model is presented for food web variation throughout the Aleutian Islands, based on seabird feeding observations at Near Island (with a shallow underwater shelf) and Buldir Island (with no shelf). At the Near Islands, the shelf provides an environment characteristic of coastal shelves, while around Buldir Island seabirds depend on oceanic species for food. Thus seabirds are indicators of marine habitats and food web types. This model can help interpret relationships of ocean heterogeneity to regional dynamics and productivity at higher trophic levels. Fish. Oceanogr. 5(1):45-55, 1996.
