Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2009, Síða 107

í EITT ÁR VÓRÐU REIÐURSTAÐIR HJÁ HAVHESTI (FULMARUS GLACIALIS) (FØROYUM
EYGLEIDDIR VIÐ VAKMYNDATÓLI
105
of accumulating energy resources for form-
ing the egg and enduring the strains of incu-
bation (Mallory and Forbes, 2007). However,
recent studies have demonstrated that, at
least in High Arctic regions, fulmar activities
at the nest-site between arrival and pre-lay-
ing exodus are energetically expensive and
necessitate a replenishment of nutrient re-
serves (Mallory and Forbes, 2008). In this
context it is interesting to note that at two
nest-sites (nos 1 (2007) and 12 (2006); Table
7) no egg laying occurred despite a pre-lay-
ingexodus.
Concluding remarks
By and large the present study supports
many findings of previous students of the
species, and concurs with a picture of the
Northern Fulmar as being, with regard to
life-history strategies, a conservative and at
the same time flexible species that has en-
abled it to spread over much of the north-
ern Atlantic and become a dominant seabird
in that region. As so appropriately put by
Fisher (1952) in his landmark monograph on
The Fulmar, the fulmar is „a conservative, un-
yielding, uncomprimising, tradition-steeped,
weather-proofautomaton...most predictable
of all the seabirds in the North Atlantic.Jt
certainly keeps its appointments more punc-
tually than the ordinary farmer."; thus, refer-
nng to the time schedule of the annual cycle
°ver geographic regions (Fisher, 1952:374-
375). This makes the Northern Fulmar highly
mteresting as a study object in the context
of climatic change (Edwards et al„ 2006). The
Purported flexibility of the species is mani-
fested in inter-colony and between-individ-
ual (nest-sites) differences that has been re-
current themes of the above discussion.
However, maybe the most important ques-
tion we should try to answer nowadays is
what are the fulmars doing when they are
not attending their nest-site ledges but far
out at sea?
Acknowledgements
We are gratefull for fundings from Amerada
Hess and a grant from The Royal Physio-
graphic Society in Lund. Anni Djurhuus,
David Ceyti, Eirikur Danielsen, Høgni Iversen
and Uni Petersen assisted in various ways
during the fieldwork.
References
Allard, K.A., Mallory, M.L., Wilcox, K.L. and Forbes,
M.R. 2008. Prebasic molt initiation and progress
in northern fulmars of the High Arctic: do molt
and breeding overlap? Polar Biol. 31:18T188.
Ashmole, N.P. 1963. The regulation of numbers of
tropical oceanic birds. Ibis 103:458-473.
Ashmole, N.P. 1971. Seabird ecology and the marine
environment. In: Farner, D.S., King, J.S. and Parkes,
K.C. (eds). Avian Biology, 1. Academic Press, New
York.
Arlt, D. and Párt, T. 2008. Post-breeding information
gathering and breeding territory shifts in north-
ern wheatears.J. Anim. Ecol. 77:211-219.
Astheimer, L.B., Prince, P.A. and Grau, C.R. 1985. Egg
formation and the pre-laying period of Black-
browed and Grey-headed Albatrosses D iomedea
melanophris and D. chrysostoma at Bird Island,
South Georgia. Ibis 127: 523-S29.
Bauer, K.M. und Glutz von Blotzheim, U.N. 1966.
Handbuch de Vógel Mitteleuropas. Bd 1.
Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Frankfurt am
Main.
Boulinier, T., Danchin, E., Monnat, J.-Y., Doutrelant,
C. and Cadiou, B. 1996. Timing of Prospecting
and the Value of Information in a Colonial
Breeding Bird. J. Avian Biol. 27:252-256.