University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 5-21-2020 Using isotopic niche dynamics to predict resiliency to climate change in an Arctic seabird Kyle John Lee Parkinson University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Parkinson, Kyle John Lee, "Using isotopic niche dynamics to predict resiliency to climate change in an Arctic seabird" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 8336. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/8336 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. Using isotopic niche dynamics to predict resiliency to climate change in an Arctic seabird. By Kyle J. L. Parkinson A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies through the Department of Integrative Biology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2020 © 2020 Kyle Parkinson Using isotopic niche dynamics to predict resiliency to climate change in an Arctic seabird by Kyle J. L. Parkinson APPROVED BY: ______________________________________________ H. Hennin Environment and Climate Change Canada ______________________________________________ S. Mundle Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry ______________________________________________ N. Hussey Department of Integrative Biology ______________________________________________ O. P. Love, Co-Advisor Department of Integrative Biology ______________________________________________ H. G. Gilchrist, Co-Advisor Department of Integrative Biology March 12, 2020 DECLARATION OF CO-AUTHORSHIP I. Co-Authorship I hereby declare that this thesis incorporates material that is result of joint research, as follows: The thesis incorporates the results from a collaboration with researchers at Environment and Climate Change Canada (Dr. H. Grant Gilchrist and Dr. Holly L. Hennin; chapters 2,3), Western University (Dr. Keith A. Hobson, chapters 2,3), La Rochelle Université (Dr. Jerome Fort, chapters 2,3), University of Windsor (Dr. Nigel Hussey; chapters 2,3), University of Iceland (Dr. Jón Einar Jónsson, chapter 3), the Faroese Marine Research Institute (Dr. Jóhannis Danielsen, chapter 3), the Russian Academy of Sciences (Dr. Grigori Tertitski, chapter 3), Acadia University (Dr. Mark Mallory, chapter 3), and the Norwegian Polar Institute (Dr. Børge Moe and Dr. Sveinn Are Hanssen, chapter 3), all under the supervision of Dr. Oliver P. Love. In all cases, the key ideas, primary contributions, experimental designs, data analysis, interpretations, and writing were performed by the author with input from each of the co-authors on writing and idea development in their respective chapters. In chapter 2, all co-authors assisted with idea development, Dr. Hennin and Dr. Love assisted with writing and statistical analyses, while Dr. Hussey and Dr. Hobson provided guidance in stable isotope interpretation. Dr. Hussey provided laboratory space for sample preparation, and Dr. Hobson provided laboratory space to analyze all samples. In chapter 3, Dr. Hennin and Dr. Love assisted with statistical analyses and writing, Dr. Fort provided laboratory space for sample preparation and stable isotope interpretation. Drs. Jónsson, Danielsen, Mallory, Moe, and Hanssen assisted with sample collection, with Dr. Hobson providing further stable isotope interpretations. I am aware of the University of Windsor Senate Policy on Authorship and I certify that I have properly acknowledged the contribution of other researchers to my thesis, and have obtained written permission from each of the co-author(s) to include the above material(s) in my thesis. I certify that, with the above qualification, this thesis, and the research to which it refers, is the product of my own work. II. General iii I declare that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in my thesis. I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. iv ABSTRACT Resource limitation drives fitness-related decisions and constrains the ability of organisms to invest in energetically demanding life history stages. Environmental factors (e.g., temperature) play an important role in affecting resource availability and quality which can downstream effect the ability of individuals to invest in energetically demanding life history stages, including reproduction. Human-induced climate change is generating increasingly variable environmental conditions, impacting the abundance and distribution of prey items and therefore the ability of individuals to successfully reproduce, and these effects are especially pronounced in the Arctic. However, it is currently unknown whether Arctic organisms possess the ability to adjust foraging decisions and prey selection to overcome newly emerging environmental constraints. Quantifying stable isotopes in the tissues of consumers provides a minimally invasive method of inferring foraging niche; however, has yet to be validated as a method of predicting population-level resiliency to climate change. Seabirds are a useful system to test these linkages in because they are wide-ranging, predominantly oceanic-based group, reliant on marine-based resources and they are often widely distributed across polar regions. Using common eiders (Somateria mollissima), an Arctic diving seabird, as a model organism, this thesis examines the linkages between environmental variation, isotopic variation in foraging niche, and breeding parameters, as a means of predicting the resiliency of Arctic seabirds to the effects of climate change. Using a long term data set from a focal breeding colony, I found significant inter-annual and inter-breeding stage variation in isotopes and isotopic niche. Although environmental cues only weakly predicted variation in isotopic niche, variation in isotopic niche was a key predictor of breeding probability. Given that variation in isotopic niche has fitness-related impacts, I then took a species-wide approach to assess inter-colony variation in isotopic niche by sampling 8 breeding colonies across the distribution of eiders. While common eiders are a generalist species overall, individual colonies had significantly different foraging strategies and levels of generalization. Taken together, these results suggest that common eiders are likely to be resilient in the face of climate change, but some colonies may be more at risk from the ongoing effects of climate change. This thesis provides the first steps towards developing a minimally invasive method for foraging flexibility as a means of assessing the resiliency of Arctic seabirds to climate change. v DEDICATION To my parents, this is as much yours as it is mine. Thank you. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to start by acknowledging my primary supervisor, Dr. Oliver Love. With every new idea I thought of, you never wavered, and always supported me with long meetings and often looking for additional graduate students to take on everything I could not. You have pushed me harder than anyone ever has, and I cannot thank you enough for this. The experiences that I have had during my time in your lab are unforgettable and would not have been possible without your support and encouragement. Thank you, Oli. I also want to thank my co-supervisor, Dr. Grant Gilchrist for helping take my thesis project to an international scale. Grant, your positivity in and out of the field is infectious, and your input to my thesis has been instrumental. Thank you for providing access to one of the most amazing field sites I have ever worked in. Dr. Holly Hennin, you are my supervisor, my mentor, and my friend. You really have taught me how to be a fully-fledged scientist. Through editing my drafts, interpreting my thoughts and refining them into actual questions, and always supporting me, you have been by my side every step of the way. The 2017 field season was life changing for me, and I am so grateful to have gone through that experience with you. Thank you to Dr. Keith Hobson for helping