Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene?
Abstract In the Aleutian Islands during the Holocene, terrestrial predators were actually absent; as a result, large seabird colonies thrived along the coasts or across entire islands. Bird guano enriches the soil with nitrogen, which can lead to the formation of highly modified ornithogenic (bird‐f...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c4aed5938cc7436ba86628bc8bbdc6a0 2023-05-15T13:14:44+02:00 Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? Olesya Igorevna Smyshlyaeva Elena Erastovna Severova Olga Aleksandrovna Krylovich Evgeniya Andreevna Kuzmicheva Arkady Borisovich Savinetsky West Dixie Virginia Hatfield 2021-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 https://doaj.org/article/c4aed5938cc7436ba86628bc8bbdc6a0 EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.8121 https://doaj.org/article/c4aed5938cc7436ba86628bc8bbdc6a0 Ecology and Evolution, Vol 11, Iss 20, Pp 14088-14100 (2021) Aleutian Islands islands ecosystems pollen analysis seabird guano vegetation dynamics Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 2022-12-31T07:30:38Z Abstract In the Aleutian Islands during the Holocene, terrestrial predators were actually absent; as a result, large seabird colonies thrived along the coasts or across entire islands. Bird guano enriches the soil with nitrogen, which can lead to the formation of highly modified ornithogenic (bird‐formed) ecosystems. For a more detailed investigation of avian influence, we reconstructed more than 10,000‐year‐old vegetation dynamics of the coast of Shemya Island (Near Islands) by pollen analysis. At the initial stages of vegetation development (10,000–4,600 cal year BP), sedge–heather tundra grew in the studied area. A seabird colony existed on Shemya from 4,600 to 2,400 cal year BP according to stable isotope analysis. During a period of at least 2,200 years, nitrogen enrichment led to the development of ornithogenic herb meadows with a high presence of Apiaceae. A long‐term increase in δ15N above 9–10‰ led to radical shifts in vegetation. Noticeable reduction of seabird colonies due to human hunting led to grass‐meadows spreading. After a prolonged decrease δ15N below 9–10‰ (2,400 cal year BP to present), there was a shift toward less productive sedge‐tundra communities. However, the significant enrichment of guano affected only the coastal vegetation and did not alter the inland Shemya Island. Article in Journal/Newspaper Aleutian Island Tundra Aleutian Islands Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Guano ENVELOPE(141.604,141.604,-66.775,-66.775) Near Islands ENVELOPE(173.132,173.132,52.801,52.801) Shemya Island ENVELOPE(174.119,174.119,52.724,52.724) Ecology and Evolution 11 20 14088 14100 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Aleutian Islands islands ecosystems pollen analysis seabird guano vegetation dynamics Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Aleutian Islands islands ecosystems pollen analysis seabird guano vegetation dynamics Ecology QH540-549.5 Olesya Igorevna Smyshlyaeva Elena Erastovna Severova Olga Aleksandrovna Krylovich Evgeniya Andreevna Kuzmicheva Arkady Borisovich Savinetsky West Dixie Virginia Hatfield Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
topic_facet |
Aleutian Islands islands ecosystems pollen analysis seabird guano vegetation dynamics Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract In the Aleutian Islands during the Holocene, terrestrial predators were actually absent; as a result, large seabird colonies thrived along the coasts or across entire islands. Bird guano enriches the soil with nitrogen, which can lead to the formation of highly modified ornithogenic (bird‐formed) ecosystems. For a more detailed investigation of avian influence, we reconstructed more than 10,000‐year‐old vegetation dynamics of the coast of Shemya Island (Near Islands) by pollen analysis. At the initial stages of vegetation development (10,000–4,600 cal year BP), sedge–heather tundra grew in the studied area. A seabird colony existed on Shemya from 4,600 to 2,400 cal year BP according to stable isotope analysis. During a period of at least 2,200 years, nitrogen enrichment led to the development of ornithogenic herb meadows with a high presence of Apiaceae. A long‐term increase in δ15N above 9–10‰ led to radical shifts in vegetation. Noticeable reduction of seabird colonies due to human hunting led to grass‐meadows spreading. After a prolonged decrease δ15N below 9–10‰ (2,400 cal year BP to present), there was a shift toward less productive sedge‐tundra communities. However, the significant enrichment of guano affected only the coastal vegetation and did not alter the inland Shemya Island. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Olesya Igorevna Smyshlyaeva Elena Erastovna Severova Olga Aleksandrovna Krylovich Evgeniya Andreevna Kuzmicheva Arkady Borisovich Savinetsky West Dixie Virginia Hatfield |
author_facet |
Olesya Igorevna Smyshlyaeva Elena Erastovna Severova Olga Aleksandrovna Krylovich Evgeniya Andreevna Kuzmicheva Arkady Borisovich Savinetsky West Dixie Virginia Hatfield |
author_sort |
Olesya Igorevna Smyshlyaeva |
title |
Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
title_short |
Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
title_full |
Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
title_fullStr |
Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ornithogenic vegetation: How significant has the seabird influence been on the Aleutian Island vegetation during the Holocene? |
title_sort |
ornithogenic vegetation: how significant has the seabird influence been on the aleutian island vegetation during the holocene? |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 https://doaj.org/article/c4aed5938cc7436ba86628bc8bbdc6a0 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(141.604,141.604,-66.775,-66.775) ENVELOPE(173.132,173.132,52.801,52.801) ENVELOPE(174.119,174.119,52.724,52.724) |
geographic |
Guano Near Islands Shemya Island |
geographic_facet |
Guano Near Islands Shemya Island |
genre |
Aleutian Island Tundra Aleutian Islands |
genre_facet |
Aleutian Island Tundra Aleutian Islands |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 11, Iss 20, Pp 14088-14100 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.8121 https://doaj.org/article/c4aed5938cc7436ba86628bc8bbdc6a0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8121 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
20 |
container_start_page |
14088 |
op_container_end_page |
14100 |
_version_ |
1766265198997405696 |