Seabirds colonized Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Arctic ~9,400 years ago

Linxi Yuan; Liguang Sun; Nanye Long; Zhouqing Xie; Yuhong Wang; Xiaodong Liu

doi:10.1007/s00300-009-0745-8

Seabirds colonized Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Arctic ~9,400 years ago

Linxi Yuan, Liguang Sun^*, Nanye Long, Zhouqing Xie, Yuhong Wang, Xiaodong Liu

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A 118-cm-long and well-preserved sediment profile in a paleo-notch, which was formed by ocean wave action before rising to the terrace, was collected from the first terrace of Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Arctic. The bottom of this profile was dated as 9,400 years B. P. based on two radiocarbon dates of fossil mollusc shell fragments. The organic material in the sediment was identified by δ¹³C_org-C/N plot and δ¹⁵N_org characteristics to be predominantly composed of seabird guano, which was transported from the ocean via preying and excreting by seabirds. These results indicate that seabirds have inhabited Ny-Ålesund since 9,400 years B. P. after Kongsfjorden was completely deglaciated. This is the first report on Holocene seabird occupation on Ny-Ålesund and it provides the foundation for understanding the ecological history of seabirds in Svalbard in Holocene.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	683-691
Number of pages	9
Journal	Polar Biology
Volume	33
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0745-8
Publication status	Published - May 2010
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Colonize
Ny-Ålesund
Paleo-notch
Seabird
Sediment

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10.1007/s00300-009-0745-8

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title = "Seabirds colonized Ny-{\AA}lesund, Svalbard, Arctic ~9,400 years ago",

abstract = "A 118-cm-long and well-preserved sediment profile in a paleo-notch, which was formed by ocean wave action before rising to the terrace, was collected from the first terrace of Ny-{\AA}lesund, Svalbard, Arctic. The bottom of this profile was dated as 9,400 years B. P. based on two radiocarbon dates of fossil mollusc shell fragments. The organic material in the sediment was identified by δ13Corg-C/N plot and δ15Norg characteristics to be predominantly composed of seabird guano, which was transported from the ocean via preying and excreting by seabirds. These results indicate that seabirds have inhabited Ny-{\AA}lesund since 9,400 years B. P. after Kongsfjorden was completely deglaciated. This is the first report on Holocene seabird occupation on Ny-{\AA}lesund and it provides the foundation for understanding the ecological history of seabirds in Svalbard in Holocene.",

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author = "Linxi Yuan and Liguang Sun and Nanye Long and Zhouqing Xie and Yuhong Wang and Xiaodong Liu",

note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgments We appreciate Prof. Steven D. Emslie for helpful revision to improve this manuscript. Special thanks to Prof. Fridtjof Mehlum for helpful discussion during Arctic Science Submit Week 2009 (ASSW2009). We also thank Prof. John P. Smol, Prof. Dominic A. Hodgson and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable critical comments in improving the manuscript. Authors wish to thank the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (CAAA) for supporting. This research was funded by National Science Foundation of China (Grants NSFC 40676004 and 40730107), Key Projects in the National Science and Technology Pillar Program (2006BAB18B07), and National 973 Program (2009CB421605).",

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doi = "10.1007/s00300-009-0745-8",

language = "English",

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AU - Yuan, Linxi

AU - Sun, Liguang

AU - Long, Nanye

AU - Xie, Zhouqing

AU - Wang, Yuhong

AU - Liu, Xiaodong

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgments We appreciate Prof. Steven D. Emslie for helpful revision to improve this manuscript. Special thanks to Prof. Fridtjof Mehlum for helpful discussion during Arctic Science Submit Week 2009 (ASSW2009). We also thank Prof. John P. Smol, Prof. Dominic A. Hodgson and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable critical comments in improving the manuscript. Authors wish to thank the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (CAAA) for supporting. This research was funded by National Science Foundation of China (Grants NSFC 40676004 and 40730107), Key Projects in the National Science and Technology Pillar Program (2006BAB18B07), and National 973 Program (2009CB421605).

PY - 2010/5

Y1 - 2010/5

N2 - A 118-cm-long and well-preserved sediment profile in a paleo-notch, which was formed by ocean wave action before rising to the terrace, was collected from the first terrace of Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Arctic. The bottom of this profile was dated as 9,400 years B. P. based on two radiocarbon dates of fossil mollusc shell fragments. The organic material in the sediment was identified by δ13Corg-C/N plot and δ15Norg characteristics to be predominantly composed of seabird guano, which was transported from the ocean via preying and excreting by seabirds. These results indicate that seabirds have inhabited Ny-Ålesund since 9,400 years B. P. after Kongsfjorden was completely deglaciated. This is the first report on Holocene seabird occupation on Ny-Ålesund and it provides the foundation for understanding the ecological history of seabirds in Svalbard in Holocene.

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KW - Seabird

KW - Sediment

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Seabirds colonized Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Arctic ~9,400 years ago

Abstract

Keywords

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