Changes in behavior are unable to disrupt a trophic cascade involving a specialist herbivore and its food plant
Abstract Changes in ecological conditions can induce changes in behavior and demography of wild organisms, which in turn may influence population dynamics. Black brant ( Branta bernicla nigricans ) nesting in colonies on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska have declined substantially (...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5118 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.5118 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.5118 |
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crwiley:10.1002/ece3.5118 2024-06-02T08:04:32+00:00 Changes in behavior are unable to disrupt a trophic cascade involving a specialist herbivore and its food plant Lohman, Madeleine G. Riecke, Thomas V. Acevedo, Cheyenne R. Person, Brian T. Schmutz, Joel A. Uher‐Koch, Brian D. Sedinger, James S. Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, Ducks Unlimited Canada National Science Foundation U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5118 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.5118 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.5118 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecology and Evolution volume 9, issue 9, page 5281-5291 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 journal-article 2019 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5118 2024-05-03T11:24:07Z Abstract Changes in ecological conditions can induce changes in behavior and demography of wild organisms, which in turn may influence population dynamics. Black brant ( Branta bernicla nigricans ) nesting in colonies on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska have declined substantially (~50%) since the turn of the century. Black brant are herbivores that rely heavily on Carex subspathacea (Hoppner's sedge) during growth and development. The availability of C. subspathacea affects gosling growth rates, which subsequently affect pre‐ and postfledging survival, as well as size and breeding probability as an adult. We predicted that long‐term declines in C. subspathacea have affected gosling growth rates, despite the potential of behavior to buffer changes in food availability during brood rearing. We used Bayesian hierarchical mixed‐effects models to examine long‐term (1987–2015) shifts in brant behavior during brood rearing, forage availability, and gosling growth rates at the Tutakoke River colony. We showed that locomotion behaviors have increased ( β = 0.05, 95% CRI: 0.032–0.068) while resting behaviors have decreased ( β = −0.024, 95% CRI: −0.041 to −0.007), potentially in response to long‐term shifts in forage availability and brood density. Concurrently, gosling growth rates have decreased substantially ( β = −0.100, 95% CRI: −0.191 to −0.016) despite shifts in behavior, mirroring long‐term declines in the abundance of C. subspathacea ( β = −0.191, 95% CRI: −0.355 to −0.032). These results have important implications for individual fitness and population viability, where shifts in gosling behavior putatively fail to mitigate long‐term declines in forage availability. Article in Journal/Newspaper Branta bernicla Kuskokwim Alaska Yukon Wiley Online Library Brant ENVELOPE(7.105,7.105,62.917,62.917) Yukon Ecology and Evolution 9 9 5281 5291 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Changes in ecological conditions can induce changes in behavior and demography of wild organisms, which in turn may influence population dynamics. Black brant ( Branta bernicla nigricans ) nesting in colonies on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska have declined substantially (~50%) since the turn of the century. Black brant are herbivores that rely heavily on Carex subspathacea (Hoppner's sedge) during growth and development. The availability of C. subspathacea affects gosling growth rates, which subsequently affect pre‐ and postfledging survival, as well as size and breeding probability as an adult. We predicted that long‐term declines in C. subspathacea have affected gosling growth rates, despite the potential of behavior to buffer changes in food availability during brood rearing. We used Bayesian hierarchical mixed‐effects models to examine long‐term (1987–2015) shifts in brant behavior during brood rearing, forage availability, and gosling growth rates at the Tutakoke River colony. We showed that locomotion behaviors have increased ( β = 0.05, 95% CRI: 0.032–0.068) while resting behaviors have decreased ( β = −0.024, 95% CRI: −0.041 to −0.007), potentially in response to long‐term shifts in forage availability and brood density. Concurrently, gosling growth rates have decreased substantially ( β = −0.100, 95% CRI: −0.191 to −0.016) despite shifts in behavior, mirroring long‐term declines in the abundance of C. subspathacea ( β = −0.191, 95% CRI: −0.355 to −0.032). These results have important implications for individual fitness and population viability, where shifts in gosling behavior putatively fail to mitigate long‐term declines in forage availability. |
author2 |
Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, Ducks Unlimited Canada National Science Foundation U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lohman, Madeleine G. Riecke, Thomas V. Acevedo, Cheyenne R. Person, Brian T. Schmutz, Joel A. Uher‐Koch, Brian D. Sedinger, James S. |
spellingShingle |
Lohman, Madeleine G. Riecke, Thomas V. Acevedo, Cheyenne R. Person, Brian T. Schmutz, Joel A. Uher‐Koch, Brian D. Sedinger, James S. Changes in behavior are unable to disrupt a trophic cascade involving a specialist herbivore and its food plant |
author_facet |
Lohman, Madeleine G. Riecke, Thomas V. Acevedo, Cheyenne R. Person, Brian T. Schmutz, Joel A. Uher‐Koch, Brian D. Sedinger, James S. |
author_sort |
Lohman, Madeleine G. |
title |
Changes in behavior are unable to disrupt a trophic cascade involving a specialist herbivore and its food plant |
title_short |
Changes in behavior are unable to disrupt a trophic cascade involving a specialist herbivore and its food plant |
title_full |
Changes in behavior are unable to disrupt a trophic cascade involving a specialist herbivore and its food plant |
title_fullStr |
Changes in behavior are unable to disrupt a trophic cascade involving a specialist herbivore and its food plant |
title_full_unstemmed |
Changes in behavior are unable to disrupt a trophic cascade involving a specialist herbivore and its food plant |
title_sort |
changes in behavior are unable to disrupt a trophic cascade involving a specialist herbivore and its food plant |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5118 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.5118 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.5118 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(7.105,7.105,62.917,62.917) |
geographic |
Brant Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Brant Yukon |
genre |
Branta bernicla Kuskokwim Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
Branta bernicla Kuskokwim Alaska Yukon |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution volume 9, issue 9, page 5281-5291 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5118 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
5281 |
op_container_end_page |
5291 |
_version_ |
1800749173215068160 |