The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at the breeding tactics of Common eiders on Svalbard, a goodbye video to the directrice of the AWI.
The Polar Retrospective is a collaborative effort by the editorial team of polarjournal.net. Each writer chooses a topic they found interesting and important in the past week. The initials at the end of each section indicate the author. We hope you enjoy it.
Sea ice decline influences breeding behavior of Common eiders in Svalbard
A Norwegian long-term study in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, shows how strongly the sea ice decline in the Arctic, driven by global warming, is affecting the breeding dynamics of Common eiders (Somateria mollissima) at a local scale. Published on April 13 in the journal Ecosphere, the study is based on nearly 40 years of data collection – one of the longest time series for Arctic wildlife.
The study focused on islands in Kongsfjorden that become isolated from the mainland earlier in the year due to earlier melting sea ice. As a result, these islands are becoming less accessible to terrestrial predators such as the Arctic fox – and significantly more attractive as nesting sites for ground-nesting birds like the Common eider. The study confirms that on these generally late ice-free islands, both the number of nests and the average clutch size have increased – indicators of improved breeding conditions. In contrast, numbers declined on islands that become ice-free earlier in the year.
The findings suggest that the increase in nests is due to many eiders shifting their nesting sites within the fjord. Immigration of new individuals, on the other hand, appears unlikely.
Such short-term positive effects of ice loss have also been documented in other regions: Adélie penguins in Antarctica benefit from retreating glaciers that open up new nesting areas. In the Arctic’s Kane Basin, receding sea ice has improved polar bears’ access to prey, and in Franz Josef Land, retreating glaciers have created new feeding hotspots for little auks. However, these developments are unlikely to be permanent.
Despite local improvements, the overall population of Common eiders in Kongsfjorden has declined in recent years – likely due to increased predation pressure from gulls, skuas, and polar bears. The study highlights that the consequences of climate change do not only occur on large spatial scales, but can also play out within just a few kilometers. J.H.
Farewell, Antje! – AWI says goodbye to its former directrice
The renowned and highly respected directrice of the German Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) has had her last day at the institute on April 30th, 2025. Her team has, therefore, created a heartwarming Farewell-video and shared it on its Youtube channel.
Last October, Professor Antje Boetius had announced that, after seven years at the helm of the famous institute, she would leave the institution and Germany to head the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in Monterey, California. There, she will be in charge not only for international cooperation and networking with other research institutions, but also to spearhead dep ocean research methods and technologies. “I’d like to get closer to the process of innovation exploring the ocean. I am hoping to have more time to contribute to marine protection through top-notch scientific expertise and the development of completely new methods and ocean technologies”, she said in an interview last October.
Her interim successor is Professor Dr. Maarten Boersma, Head of the AWI section “Coastal Ecology” and focusing especially on the effects of climate change and other stressors on the plankton communities in the North Sea, says a press release by the AWI. ““When asked, I was thrilled to be entrusted with leading the AWI as Acting Director,” he stated in the press release. Until a selection committee at the AWI has decided on a final appointee, Maarten Boersma will be leading the German institute.
Maarten Boersma is no stranger to the polar regions as he and his research group are not only studying coastal system on the doorstep of the AWI, but also in the Canadian Arctic in collaboration with AWI partner in Potsdam and Bremerhaven. M.W.