Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2009, Blaðsíða 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.
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