Sex differences in foraging ecology of a zooplanktivorous little auk Alle alle during the pre-laying period: insights from remote sensing and animal-tracking.

We found that little auks females during the pre-laying period explored wider foraging niches compared to males. These differences may be attributed to sex-specific nutritional or/and energetical constraints at this stage of breeding. The results of this study also emphasize the importance of shelf Arctic-type water masses as the foraging areas for little auks during successive stages of breeding.