Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Plural form of
alcid .
Etymologies
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Examples
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How alcids locate areas for foraging is not well understood.
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Piscivorous alcids (murres, razorbills, puffins, guillemots, murrelets) feed further up the food chain, as they consume bait fish.
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Perhaps the most significant of these is that commercial fisheries can lead to dramatic reductions in the amount of fish available for alcids to eat, as many of the species consumed by alcids are also important commercial fisheries (e.g. capelin, herring, sand lance).
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The planktivorous alcids (auklets, dovekies, murrelets) participate in a relatively short food chain, as krill feed directly on phytoplankton.
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Additionally, alcids become prey for other marine animals.
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In addition to these direct effects, commercial fishing can affect alcids indirectly in many ways.
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Commercial fishing has direct and indirect effects on alcids.
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Climate change causes contrasting trends in reproductive performance of planktivorous and piscivorous alcids.
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All alcids use their wings to propel themselves on underwater dives in pursuit of food.
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Because of the difficulty in tracking birds in the open ocean, much remains to be discovered about the locations and behaviors of alcids in the non-breeding season.
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