Small rodent population cycles and plants – after 70 years, where do we go?
ABSTRACT Small rodent population cycles characterise northern ecosystems, and the cause of these cycles has been a long‐lasting central topic in ecology, with trophic interactions currently considered the most plausible cause. While some researchers have rejected plant–herbivore interactions as a ca...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/brv.13021 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/brv.13021 |
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crwiley:10.1111/brv.13021 2024-09-30T14:45:26+00:00 Small rodent population cycles and plants – after 70 years, where do we go? Soininen, Eeva M. Neby, Magne Høgskolen i Innlandet Norges Forskningsråd Universitetet i Tromsø Norges Forskningsråd 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/brv.13021 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/brv.13021 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Biological Reviews volume 99, issue 1, page 265-294 ISSN 1464-7931 1469-185X journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.13021 2024-09-11T04:16:01Z ABSTRACT Small rodent population cycles characterise northern ecosystems, and the cause of these cycles has been a long‐lasting central topic in ecology, with trophic interactions currently considered the most plausible cause. While some researchers have rejected plant–herbivore interactions as a cause of rodent cycles, others have continued to research their potential roles. Here, we present an overview of whether plants can cause rodent population cycles, dividing this idea into four different hypotheses with different pathways of plant impacts and related assumptions. Our systematic review of the existing literature identified 238 studies from 150 publications. This evidence base covered studies from the temperate biome to the tundra, but the studies were scattered across study systems and only a few specific topics were addressed in a replicated manner. Quantitative effects of rodents on vegetation was the best studied topic, and our evidence base suggests such that such effects may be most pronounced in winter. However, the regrowth of vegetation appears to take place too rapidly to maintain low rodent population densities over several years. The lack of studies prevented assessment of time lags in the qualitative responses of vegetation to rodent herbivory. We conclude that the literature is currently insufficient to discard with confidence any of the four potential hypotheses for plant–rodent cycles discussed herein. While new methods allow analyses of plant quality across more herbivore‐relevant spatial scales than previously possible, we argue that the best way forward to rejecting any of the rodent–plant hypotheses is testing specific predictions of dietary variation. Indeed, all identified hypotheses make explicit assumptions on how rodent diet taxonomic composition and quality will change across the cycle. Passing this bottleneck could help pinpoint where, when, and how plant–herbivore interactions have – or do not have – plausible effects on rodent population dynamics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra Wiley Online Library Biological Reviews |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
ABSTRACT Small rodent population cycles characterise northern ecosystems, and the cause of these cycles has been a long‐lasting central topic in ecology, with trophic interactions currently considered the most plausible cause. While some researchers have rejected plant–herbivore interactions as a cause of rodent cycles, others have continued to research their potential roles. Here, we present an overview of whether plants can cause rodent population cycles, dividing this idea into four different hypotheses with different pathways of plant impacts and related assumptions. Our systematic review of the existing literature identified 238 studies from 150 publications. This evidence base covered studies from the temperate biome to the tundra, but the studies were scattered across study systems and only a few specific topics were addressed in a replicated manner. Quantitative effects of rodents on vegetation was the best studied topic, and our evidence base suggests such that such effects may be most pronounced in winter. However, the regrowth of vegetation appears to take place too rapidly to maintain low rodent population densities over several years. The lack of studies prevented assessment of time lags in the qualitative responses of vegetation to rodent herbivory. We conclude that the literature is currently insufficient to discard with confidence any of the four potential hypotheses for plant–rodent cycles discussed herein. While new methods allow analyses of plant quality across more herbivore‐relevant spatial scales than previously possible, we argue that the best way forward to rejecting any of the rodent–plant hypotheses is testing specific predictions of dietary variation. Indeed, all identified hypotheses make explicit assumptions on how rodent diet taxonomic composition and quality will change across the cycle. Passing this bottleneck could help pinpoint where, when, and how plant–herbivore interactions have – or do not have – plausible effects on rodent population dynamics. |
author2 |
Høgskolen i Innlandet Norges Forskningsråd Universitetet i Tromsø Norges Forskningsråd |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Soininen, Eeva M. Neby, Magne |
spellingShingle |
Soininen, Eeva M. Neby, Magne Small rodent population cycles and plants – after 70 years, where do we go? |
author_facet |
Soininen, Eeva M. Neby, Magne |
author_sort |
Soininen, Eeva M. |
title |
Small rodent population cycles and plants – after 70 years, where do we go? |
title_short |
Small rodent population cycles and plants – after 70 years, where do we go? |
title_full |
Small rodent population cycles and plants – after 70 years, where do we go? |
title_fullStr |
Small rodent population cycles and plants – after 70 years, where do we go? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Small rodent population cycles and plants – after 70 years, where do we go? |
title_sort |
small rodent population cycles and plants – after 70 years, where do we go? |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/brv.13021 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/brv.13021 |
genre |
Tundra |
genre_facet |
Tundra |
op_source |
Biological Reviews volume 99, issue 1, page 265-294 ISSN 1464-7931 1469-185X |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.13021 |
container_title |
Biological Reviews |
_version_ |
1811646097971478528 |