Extreme events, trophic chain reactions, and shifts in phenotypic selection ...

• Main Authors: Layton-Matthews, Kate, Vriend, Stefan J. G., Grøtan, Vidar, Loonen, Maarten J. J. E., Sæther, Bernt-Erik, Fuglei, Eva, Hansen, Brage Bremset
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2023
• Subjects: FOS: Biological sciences; phenotypic selection; extreme climatic event; ECE; high Arctic; Population dynamics; Density dependence; Multidisciplinary; Branta leucopsis; Arctic; Svalbard; Ny-Ålesund; Arctic Fox; Arctic Population; Barnacle goose; Ny Ålesund; svalbard reindeer
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hhmgqnknq; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.hhmgqnknq

Demographic consequences of rapid environmental change and extreme climatic events (ECEs) can cascade across trophic levels with evolutionary implications that have rarely been explored. Here, we show how an ECE in high Arctic Svalbard triggered a trophic chain reaction, directly or indirectly affecting the demography of both overwintering and migratory vertebrates, ultimately inducing a shift in density-dependent phenotypic selection in migratory geese. A record-breaking rain-on-snow event and ice-locked pastures led to reindeer mass starvation and a population crash, followed by a period of low mortality and population recovery. This caused lagged, long-lasting reductions in reindeer carrion numbers and resultant low abundances of Arctic foxes, a scavenger on reindeer and predator of migratory birds. The associated decrease in Arctic fox predation of goose offspring allowed for a rapid increase in barnacle goose densities. As expected according to r- and K-selection theory, the goose body condition ... : First dataset The first data set includes the data to run the correlative analysis, presented in Figure 2 in the article. This was based on time series data on Svalbard reindeer abundance, a proxy of Arctic fox abundance and abundance data of barnacle geese on high Arctic Svalbard. Annual estimates of barnacle goose population size at Ny-Ålesund were obtained from the results of an integrated population model. All data are accessible in published articles or online. The percentage of occupied dens was used as a proxy of abundance of Arctic foxes, based on annual records of known den sites around Ny‐Ålesund with pup production during summer (Fuglei et al. 2003) and were obtained from MOSJ (2021). Data of reindeer abundances (population counts) were available from Supplementary Information Figure S1 in Hansen et al. (2019). Data of goose abundance (total population size estimated with an integrated population model) were obtained from (Layton-Matthews et al. 2019). Please see respective publications for ...