Seabirds colonized Ny-lesund, Svalbard, Arctic ∼9,400 years ago

A 118-cm-long and well-preserved sediment profile in a paleo-notch, which was formed by ocean wave action before rising to the terrace, was collected from the first terrace of Ny-lesund, Svalbard, Arctic. The bottom of this profile was dated as 9,400 years B.P. based on two radiocarbon dates of fossil mollusc shell fragments. The organic material in the sediment was identified by delta C-13(org)-C/N plot and delta N-15(org) characteristics to be predominantly composed of seabird guano, which was transported from the ocean via preying and excreting by seabirds. These results indicate that seabirds have inhabited Ny-lesund since 9,400 years B.P. after Kongsfjorden was completely deglaciated. This is the first report on Holocene seabird occupation on Ny-lesund and it provides the foundation for understanding the ecological history of seabirds in Svalbard in Holocene.