Past, current and future research on kittiwakes in Kongsfjorden: The opportunity of an international integration (Workshop Feb/Mar 2013)

Observations and experiments in wild seabirds have greatly progressed our understanding on how individuals and populations cope with environmental variability and change. The annual research in Kongsfjorden that we have carried out during most of the past 20 years has been an important contribution to the international debate on environmental effects in seabirds. Through the use of Ny-Ålesund as a research basis, we were able to collect long-term data sets on breeding phenology, environmental stress and p hysiological, energetic and behavioral responses by seabirds. However, isolated research in single colonies and systems is limited in the extent to which it can address large-scale changes. In the future, it will therefore be essential to integrate resear ch done by individual working groups or single collaborations. We propose to hold a workshop on the future of collaborative research in kittiwakes, a seabird species that has a wide and circumpolar distribution. This species serves as a model species of s everal researchers and working groups in multiple countries. We believe that this proposed workshop will lead to a vivid collaboration internationally, through which we can address climate issues more efficiently and productively at an adequate scale.