Geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success:Insights from a high-Arctic ecosystem
The bioavailability of essential and non-essential elements in vegetation is expected to influence the performance of free-ranging terrestrial herbivores. However, attempts to relate the use of geochemical landscapes by animal populations directly to reproductive output are currently lacking. Here w...
Published in: | Science of The Total Environment |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2023
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Online Access: | https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/geochemical-landscapes-as-drivers-of-wildlife-reproductive-success(01c09aa6-98d9-4f18-a702-d6dab71c4f3e).html https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166567 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/365812039/1_s2.0_S0048969723051926_main.pdf |
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ftcopenhagenunip:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/01c09aa6-98d9-4f18-a702-d6dab71c4f3e 2024-06-09T07:42:28+00:00 Geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success:Insights from a high-Arctic ecosystem van Beest, Floris M. Schmidt, Niels Martin Stewart, Lærke Hansen, Lars H. Michelsen, Anders Mosbacher, Jesper B. Gilbert, Hugo Le Roux, Gaël Hansson, Sophia V. 2023 application/pdf https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/geochemical-landscapes-as-drivers-of-wildlife-reproductive-success(01c09aa6-98d9-4f18-a702-d6dab71c4f3e).html https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166567 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/365812039/1_s2.0_S0048969723051926_main.pdf eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess van Beest , F M , Schmidt , N M , Stewart , L , Hansen , L H , Michelsen , A , Mosbacher , J B , Gilbert , H , Le Roux , G & Hansson , S V 2023 , ' Geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success : Insights from a high-Arctic ecosystem ' , Science of the Total Environment , vol. 903 , 166567 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166567 Arctic Ecogeochemistry Herbivores Plant quality Zoogeochemistry article 2023 ftcopenhagenunip https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166567 2024-05-16T11:29:30Z The bioavailability of essential and non-essential elements in vegetation is expected to influence the performance of free-ranging terrestrial herbivores. However, attempts to relate the use of geochemical landscapes by animal populations directly to reproductive output are currently lacking. Here we measured concentrations of 14 essential and non-essential elements in soil and vegetation samples collected in the Zackenberg valley, northeast Greenland, and linked these to environmental conditions to spatially predict and map geochemical landscapes. We then used long-term (1996–2021) survey data of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) to quantify annual variation in the relative use of essential and non-essential elements in vegetated sites and their relationship to calf recruitment the following year. Results showed that the relative use of the geochemical landscape by muskoxen varied substantially between years and differed among elements. Selection for vegetated sites with higher levels of the essential elements N, Cu, Se, and Mo was positively linked to annual calf recruitment. In contrast, selection for vegetated sites with higher concentrations of the non-essential elements As and Pb was negatively correlated to annual calf recruitment. Based on the concentrations measured in our study, we found no apparent associations between annual calf recruitment and levels of C, Mn, Co, Zn, Cd, Ba, Hg, and C:N ratio in the vegetation. We conclude that the spatial distribution and access to essential and non-essential elements are important drivers of reproductive output in muskoxen, which may also apply to other wildlife populations. The value of geochemical landscapes to assess habitat-performance relationships is likely to increase under future environmental change. The bioavailability of essential and non-essential elements in vegetation is expected to influence the performance of free-ranging terrestrial herbivores. However, attempts to relate the use of geochemical landscapes by animal populations directly to ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Greenland ovibos moschatus Zackenberg University of Copenhagen: Research Arctic Greenland Science of The Total Environment 903 166567 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Copenhagen: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftcopenhagenunip |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic Ecogeochemistry Herbivores Plant quality Zoogeochemistry |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Ecogeochemistry Herbivores Plant quality Zoogeochemistry van Beest, Floris M. Schmidt, Niels Martin Stewart, Lærke Hansen, Lars H. Michelsen, Anders Mosbacher, Jesper B. Gilbert, Hugo Le Roux, Gaël Hansson, Sophia V. Geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success:Insights from a high-Arctic ecosystem |
topic_facet |
Arctic Ecogeochemistry Herbivores Plant quality Zoogeochemistry |
description |
The bioavailability of essential and non-essential elements in vegetation is expected to influence the performance of free-ranging terrestrial herbivores. However, attempts to relate the use of geochemical landscapes by animal populations directly to reproductive output are currently lacking. Here we measured concentrations of 14 essential and non-essential elements in soil and vegetation samples collected in the Zackenberg valley, northeast Greenland, and linked these to environmental conditions to spatially predict and map geochemical landscapes. We then used long-term (1996–2021) survey data of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) to quantify annual variation in the relative use of essential and non-essential elements in vegetated sites and their relationship to calf recruitment the following year. Results showed that the relative use of the geochemical landscape by muskoxen varied substantially between years and differed among elements. Selection for vegetated sites with higher levels of the essential elements N, Cu, Se, and Mo was positively linked to annual calf recruitment. In contrast, selection for vegetated sites with higher concentrations of the non-essential elements As and Pb was negatively correlated to annual calf recruitment. Based on the concentrations measured in our study, we found no apparent associations between annual calf recruitment and levels of C, Mn, Co, Zn, Cd, Ba, Hg, and C:N ratio in the vegetation. We conclude that the spatial distribution and access to essential and non-essential elements are important drivers of reproductive output in muskoxen, which may also apply to other wildlife populations. The value of geochemical landscapes to assess habitat-performance relationships is likely to increase under future environmental change. The bioavailability of essential and non-essential elements in vegetation is expected to influence the performance of free-ranging terrestrial herbivores. However, attempts to relate the use of geochemical landscapes by animal populations directly to ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
van Beest, Floris M. Schmidt, Niels Martin Stewart, Lærke Hansen, Lars H. Michelsen, Anders Mosbacher, Jesper B. Gilbert, Hugo Le Roux, Gaël Hansson, Sophia V. |
author_facet |
van Beest, Floris M. Schmidt, Niels Martin Stewart, Lærke Hansen, Lars H. Michelsen, Anders Mosbacher, Jesper B. Gilbert, Hugo Le Roux, Gaël Hansson, Sophia V. |
author_sort |
van Beest, Floris M. |
title |
Geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success:Insights from a high-Arctic ecosystem |
title_short |
Geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success:Insights from a high-Arctic ecosystem |
title_full |
Geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success:Insights from a high-Arctic ecosystem |
title_fullStr |
Geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success:Insights from a high-Arctic ecosystem |
title_full_unstemmed |
Geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success:Insights from a high-Arctic ecosystem |
title_sort |
geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success:insights from a high-arctic ecosystem |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/geochemical-landscapes-as-drivers-of-wildlife-reproductive-success(01c09aa6-98d9-4f18-a702-d6dab71c4f3e).html https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166567 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/365812039/1_s2.0_S0048969723051926_main.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Greenland ovibos moschatus Zackenberg |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Greenland ovibos moschatus Zackenberg |
op_source |
van Beest , F M , Schmidt , N M , Stewart , L , Hansen , L H , Michelsen , A , Mosbacher , J B , Gilbert , H , Le Roux , G & Hansson , S V 2023 , ' Geochemical landscapes as drivers of wildlife reproductive success : Insights from a high-Arctic ecosystem ' , Science of the Total Environment , vol. 903 , 166567 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166567 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166567 |
container_title |
Science of The Total Environment |
container_volume |
903 |
container_start_page |
166567 |
_version_ |
1801371314181636096 |