Snow-Mediated Ptarmigan Browsing and Shrub Expansion in Arctic Alaska
Large, late-winter ptarmigan migrations heavily impact the shoot, plant, and patch architecture of shrubs that remain above the snow surface. Ptarmigan browsing on arctic shrubs was assessed in the vicinity of Toolik Lake, on the north side of the Brooks Range in Alaska. Data were collected in early...
Published in: | Écoscience |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
ScholarWorks
2010
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgiss_facpubs/133 https://doi.org/10.2980/17-2-3323 |
id |
ftboisestateu:oai:scholarworks.boisestate.edu:cgiss_facpubs-1132 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftboisestateu:oai:scholarworks.boisestate.edu:cgiss_facpubs-1132 2023-10-29T02:33:57+01:00 Snow-Mediated Ptarmigan Browsing and Shrub Expansion in Arctic Alaska Tape, Ken D. Lord, Rachel Marshall, Hans-Peter Ruess, Roger W. 2010-06-01T07:00:00Z https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgiss_facpubs/133 https://doi.org/10.2980/17-2-3323 unknown ScholarWorks https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgiss_facpubs/133 http://dx.doi.org/10.2980/17-2-3323 CGISS Publications and Presentations browsing greening ptarmigan shrubs snow tundra Geosciences Earth Sciences Geophysics and Seismology text 2010 ftboisestateu https://doi.org/10.2980/17-2-3323 2023-09-29T15:03:46Z Large, late-winter ptarmigan migrations heavily impact the shoot, plant, and patch architecture of shrubs that remain above the snow surface. Ptarmigan browsing on arctic shrubs was assessed in the vicinity of Toolik Lake, on the north side of the Brooks Range in Alaska. Data were collected in early May 2007, at maximum snow depth, after the bulk of the ptarmigan migration had passed through the area. In an area of tall shrubs, half of the buds on Salix alaxensis were browsed by ptarmigan. Three percent of the buds that were buried beneath the snow were browsed, 90% of the buds that were less than 30 cm above the maximum snow level were browsed, and 45% of the buds above that height were browsed. Ptarmigan browsing was found to be a major height limiter for tall shrubs, thereby controlling shrub architecture by brooming stems at the snow surface and inducing stump shoots. These results were qualitatively extrapolated by photographing shrub morphology over a region approximately 300 km wide across a series of north-flowing arctic rivers with headwaters in the Brooks Range. Ptarmigan "hedging" of shrub patches, and shrub growth under a warmer climate, are opposing forces mediated by snow distribution. Text Arctic Brooks Range Tundra Alaska Boise State University: Scholar Works Écoscience 17 2 186 193 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Boise State University: Scholar Works |
op_collection_id |
ftboisestateu |
language |
unknown |
topic |
browsing greening ptarmigan shrubs snow tundra Geosciences Earth Sciences Geophysics and Seismology |
spellingShingle |
browsing greening ptarmigan shrubs snow tundra Geosciences Earth Sciences Geophysics and Seismology Tape, Ken D. Lord, Rachel Marshall, Hans-Peter Ruess, Roger W. Snow-Mediated Ptarmigan Browsing and Shrub Expansion in Arctic Alaska |
topic_facet |
browsing greening ptarmigan shrubs snow tundra Geosciences Earth Sciences Geophysics and Seismology |
description |
Large, late-winter ptarmigan migrations heavily impact the shoot, plant, and patch architecture of shrubs that remain above the snow surface. Ptarmigan browsing on arctic shrubs was assessed in the vicinity of Toolik Lake, on the north side of the Brooks Range in Alaska. Data were collected in early May 2007, at maximum snow depth, after the bulk of the ptarmigan migration had passed through the area. In an area of tall shrubs, half of the buds on Salix alaxensis were browsed by ptarmigan. Three percent of the buds that were buried beneath the snow were browsed, 90% of the buds that were less than 30 cm above the maximum snow level were browsed, and 45% of the buds above that height were browsed. Ptarmigan browsing was found to be a major height limiter for tall shrubs, thereby controlling shrub architecture by brooming stems at the snow surface and inducing stump shoots. These results were qualitatively extrapolated by photographing shrub morphology over a region approximately 300 km wide across a series of north-flowing arctic rivers with headwaters in the Brooks Range. Ptarmigan "hedging" of shrub patches, and shrub growth under a warmer climate, are opposing forces mediated by snow distribution. |
format |
Text |
author |
Tape, Ken D. Lord, Rachel Marshall, Hans-Peter Ruess, Roger W. |
author_facet |
Tape, Ken D. Lord, Rachel Marshall, Hans-Peter Ruess, Roger W. |
author_sort |
Tape, Ken D. |
title |
Snow-Mediated Ptarmigan Browsing and Shrub Expansion in Arctic Alaska |
title_short |
Snow-Mediated Ptarmigan Browsing and Shrub Expansion in Arctic Alaska |
title_full |
Snow-Mediated Ptarmigan Browsing and Shrub Expansion in Arctic Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Snow-Mediated Ptarmigan Browsing and Shrub Expansion in Arctic Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Snow-Mediated Ptarmigan Browsing and Shrub Expansion in Arctic Alaska |
title_sort |
snow-mediated ptarmigan browsing and shrub expansion in arctic alaska |
publisher |
ScholarWorks |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgiss_facpubs/133 https://doi.org/10.2980/17-2-3323 |
genre |
Arctic Brooks Range Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Brooks Range Tundra Alaska |
op_source |
CGISS Publications and Presentations |
op_relation |
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgiss_facpubs/133 http://dx.doi.org/10.2980/17-2-3323 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2980/17-2-3323 |
container_title |
Écoscience |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
186 |
op_container_end_page |
193 |
_version_ |
1781056274556780544 |