Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene?
Abstract In the Aleutian Islands during the Holocene, terrestrial predators were actually absent; as a result, large seabird colonies thrived along the coasts or across entire islands. Bird guano enriches the soil with nitrogen, which can lead to the formation of highly modified ornithogenic (bird‐f...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.8121 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.8121 |
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crwiley:10.1002/ece3.8121 2024-09-15T17:36:26+00:00 Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? Smyshlyaeva, Olesya Igorevna Severova, Elena Erastovna Krylovich, Olga Aleksandrovna Kuzmicheva, Evgeniya Andreevna Savinetsky, Arkady Borisovich Dixie, West Hatfield, Virginia Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung Russian Foundation for Basic Research National Geographic Society Education Foundation 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.8121 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.8121 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecology and Evolution volume 11, issue 20, page 14088-14100 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 journal-article 2021 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 2024-07-23T04:15:05Z Abstract In the Aleutian Islands during the Holocene, terrestrial predators were actually absent; as a result, large seabird colonies thrived along the coasts or across entire islands. Bird guano enriches the soil with nitrogen, which can lead to the formation of highly modified ornithogenic (bird‐formed) ecosystems. For a more detailed investigation of avian influence, we reconstructed more than 10,000‐year‐old vegetation dynamics of the coast of Shemya Island (Near Islands) by pollen analysis. At the initial stages of vegetation development (10,000–4,600 cal year BP), sedge–heather tundra grew in the studied area. A seabird colony existed on Shemya from 4,600 to 2,400 cal year BP according to stable isotope analysis. During a period of at least 2,200 years, nitrogen enrichment led to the development of ornithogenic herb meadows with a high presence of Apiaceae. A long‐term increase in δ15N above 9–10‰ led to radical shifts in vegetation. Noticeable reduction of seabird colonies due to human hunting led to grass‐meadows spreading. After a prolonged decrease δ15N below 9–10‰ (2,400 cal year BP to present), there was a shift toward less productive sedge‐tundra communities. However, the significant enrichment of guano affected only the coastal vegetation and did not alter the inland Shemya Island. Article in Journal/Newspaper Aleutian Island Tundra Aleutian Islands Wiley Online Library Ecology and Evolution 11 20 14088 14100 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
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English |
description |
Abstract In the Aleutian Islands during the Holocene, terrestrial predators were actually absent; as a result, large seabird colonies thrived along the coasts or across entire islands. Bird guano enriches the soil with nitrogen, which can lead to the formation of highly modified ornithogenic (bird‐formed) ecosystems. For a more detailed investigation of avian influence, we reconstructed more than 10,000‐year‐old vegetation dynamics of the coast of Shemya Island (Near Islands) by pollen analysis. At the initial stages of vegetation development (10,000–4,600 cal year BP), sedge–heather tundra grew in the studied area. A seabird colony existed on Shemya from 4,600 to 2,400 cal year BP according to stable isotope analysis. During a period of at least 2,200 years, nitrogen enrichment led to the development of ornithogenic herb meadows with a high presence of Apiaceae. A long‐term increase in δ15N above 9–10‰ led to radical shifts in vegetation. Noticeable reduction of seabird colonies due to human hunting led to grass‐meadows spreading. After a prolonged decrease δ15N below 9–10‰ (2,400 cal year BP to present), there was a shift toward less productive sedge‐tundra communities. However, the significant enrichment of guano affected only the coastal vegetation and did not alter the inland Shemya Island. |
author2 |
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung Russian Foundation for Basic Research National Geographic Society Education Foundation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smyshlyaeva, Olesya Igorevna Severova, Elena Erastovna Krylovich, Olga Aleksandrovna Kuzmicheva, Evgeniya Andreevna Savinetsky, Arkady Borisovich Dixie, West Hatfield, Virginia |
spellingShingle |
Smyshlyaeva, Olesya Igorevna Severova, Elena Erastovna Krylovich, Olga Aleksandrovna Kuzmicheva, Evgeniya Andreevna Savinetsky, Arkady Borisovich Dixie, West Hatfield, Virginia Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
author_facet |
Smyshlyaeva, Olesya Igorevna Severova, Elena Erastovna Krylovich, Olga Aleksandrovna Kuzmicheva, Evgeniya Andreevna Savinetsky, Arkady Borisovich Dixie, West Hatfield, Virginia |
author_sort |
Smyshlyaeva, Olesya Igorevna |
title |
Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
title_short |
Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
title_full |
Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
title_fullStr |
Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
title_sort |
ornithogenic vegetation: how significant has the seabird influence been on the aleutian island vegetation during the holocene? |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.8121 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.8121 |
genre |
Aleutian Island Tundra Aleutian Islands |
genre_facet |
Aleutian Island Tundra Aleutian Islands |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution volume 11, issue 20, page 14088-14100 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
20 |
container_start_page |
14088 |
op_container_end_page |
14100 |
_version_ |
1810489625524830208 |