Migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an Arctic coastal wetland.
With warmer springs, herbivores migrating to Arctic breeding grounds may experience phenological mismatches between their energy demands and the availability of high quality forage. Yet, how the timing of the start of the season and herbivore arrival influences forage quality is often unknown. In co...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1fc51e97471c48d1a9c56f5bea840b15 2023-05-15T15:02:21+02:00 Migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an Arctic coastal wetland. Karen H Beard Ryan T Choi A Joshua Leffler Lindsay G Carlson Katharine C Kelsey Joel A Schmutz Jeffrey M Welker 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213037 https://doaj.org/article/1fc51e97471c48d1a9c56f5bea840b15 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213037 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0213037 https://doaj.org/article/1fc51e97471c48d1a9c56f5bea840b15 PLoS ONE, Vol 14, Iss 3, p e0213037 (2019) Medicine R Science Q article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213037 2022-12-31T14:49:26Z With warmer springs, herbivores migrating to Arctic breeding grounds may experience phenological mismatches between their energy demands and the availability of high quality forage. Yet, how the timing of the start of the season and herbivore arrival influences forage quality is often unknown. In coastal western Alaska, approximately one million migratory geese arrive each spring to breed, where foliar %N and C:N ratios are linked to gosling survival and population growth. We conducted a three-year experiment where we manipulated the start of the growing season using warming chambers and grazing times using captive Pacific black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) to examine how the timing of these events influences the quality of an important forage species. Our results suggest that grazing timing plays a much greater role than an advanced growing season in determining forage quality. All top models included grazing timing, and suggested that compared to typical grazing timing, early grazing significantly reduced foliar %C by 6% and C:N ratios by 16%, while late goose grazing significantly reduced foliar %N by 15% and increased foliar C:N ratios by 21%. While second-ranking top models included the effect of season, the advanced growing season effect was not significant and only reduced %N by 4%, increased %C by <1%, and increased C:N ratios by 5% compared to an ambient growing season. In summary, in years where geese arrive early, they will consume higher quality forage when they arrive and throughout the season, while in years that geese arrive late they will consume lower quality forage when they arrive and for the remainder of the season. When the growing season starts has only a minor influence on this pattern. Our findings suggest that cues determining migration and arrival times to breeding areas are important factors influencing forage quality for geese in western Alaska. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Branta bernicla Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Pacific Brant ENVELOPE(7.105,7.105,62.917,62.917) PLOS ONE 14 3 e0213037 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Karen H Beard Ryan T Choi A Joshua Leffler Lindsay G Carlson Katharine C Kelsey Joel A Schmutz Jeffrey M Welker Migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an Arctic coastal wetland. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
With warmer springs, herbivores migrating to Arctic breeding grounds may experience phenological mismatches between their energy demands and the availability of high quality forage. Yet, how the timing of the start of the season and herbivore arrival influences forage quality is often unknown. In coastal western Alaska, approximately one million migratory geese arrive each spring to breed, where foliar %N and C:N ratios are linked to gosling survival and population growth. We conducted a three-year experiment where we manipulated the start of the growing season using warming chambers and grazing times using captive Pacific black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) to examine how the timing of these events influences the quality of an important forage species. Our results suggest that grazing timing plays a much greater role than an advanced growing season in determining forage quality. All top models included grazing timing, and suggested that compared to typical grazing timing, early grazing significantly reduced foliar %C by 6% and C:N ratios by 16%, while late goose grazing significantly reduced foliar %N by 15% and increased foliar C:N ratios by 21%. While second-ranking top models included the effect of season, the advanced growing season effect was not significant and only reduced %N by 4%, increased %C by <1%, and increased C:N ratios by 5% compared to an ambient growing season. In summary, in years where geese arrive early, they will consume higher quality forage when they arrive and throughout the season, while in years that geese arrive late they will consume lower quality forage when they arrive and for the remainder of the season. When the growing season starts has only a minor influence on this pattern. Our findings suggest that cues determining migration and arrival times to breeding areas are important factors influencing forage quality for geese in western Alaska. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Karen H Beard Ryan T Choi A Joshua Leffler Lindsay G Carlson Katharine C Kelsey Joel A Schmutz Jeffrey M Welker |
author_facet |
Karen H Beard Ryan T Choi A Joshua Leffler Lindsay G Carlson Katharine C Kelsey Joel A Schmutz Jeffrey M Welker |
author_sort |
Karen H Beard |
title |
Migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an Arctic coastal wetland. |
title_short |
Migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an Arctic coastal wetland. |
title_full |
Migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an Arctic coastal wetland. |
title_fullStr |
Migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an Arctic coastal wetland. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an Arctic coastal wetland. |
title_sort |
migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an arctic coastal wetland. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213037 https://doaj.org/article/1fc51e97471c48d1a9c56f5bea840b15 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(7.105,7.105,62.917,62.917) |
geographic |
Arctic Pacific Brant |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Pacific Brant |
genre |
Arctic Branta bernicla Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Branta bernicla Alaska |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 14, Iss 3, p e0213037 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213037 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0213037 https://doaj.org/article/1fc51e97471c48d1a9c56f5bea840b15 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213037 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
e0213037 |
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