Arctic seabird colony effect on marine benthos described by researchers from Dept. of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology

A new article entitled
“Bottom-up effects of seabird colonies on Arctic benthic communities mediated by kelp forests” has been published in Ecosystems (Springer).
Authors include Katarzyna Zmudczyńska-Skarbek and Adrian Zwolicki from Dept. of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, in collaboration with researchers from the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences (Sopot): Piotr Bałazy, Maciej Chełchowski, Piotr Kukliński, Zuzanna Opalińska, and from Université de Liège (Belgium): Gilles Lepoint.
The study shows that seabird colonies significantly influence Arctic benthic community structure, with kelp forests acting as a key mediator of nutrient transfer from land to coastal marine ecosystems. The analyses combine benthic community data with nitrogen stable isotope (δ¹⁵N) signatures, highlighting complex land–sea ecological linkages.
 Full article:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10021-025-01044-w
https://rdcu.be/e1nK9 (view-only pdf)