Low spatial habitat overlap of herbivores in the High Arctic tundra
Herbivores play a crucial role in shaping tundra ecosystems through their effects on vegetation, nutrient cycling, and soil abiotic factors. Understanding their habitat use, co-occurrence, and overlap is therefore essential for informing ecosystem-based management and conservation. In the High Arcti...
Published in: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e02797 https://doaj.org/article/e0e4df41e0084990888400a622d2bf00 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e0e4df41e0084990888400a622d2bf00 2024-02-11T09:55:40+01:00 Low spatial habitat overlap of herbivores in the High Arctic tundra Virve Ravolainen Ingrid M.G. Paulsen Isabell Eischeid Jennifer Sorensen Forbey Eva Fuglei Tomáš Hájek Brage B. Hansen Leif Egil Loe Petr Macek Jesper Madsen Eeva M. Soininen James D.M. Speed Audun Stien Hans Tømmervik Åshild Ønvik Pedersen 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e02797 https://doaj.org/article/e0e4df41e0084990888400a622d2bf00 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424000015 https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894 2351-9894 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e02797 https://doaj.org/article/e0e4df41e0084990888400a622d2bf00 Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 49, Iss , Pp e02797- (2024) Goose Habitat suitability Management Ptarmigan Reindeer Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e02797 2024-01-14T01:36:52Z Herbivores play a crucial role in shaping tundra ecosystems through their effects on vegetation, nutrient cycling, and soil abiotic factors. Understanding their habitat use, co-occurrence, and overlap is therefore essential for informing ecosystem-based management and conservation. In the High Arctic, only a marginal proportion of the land area is vegetated, and climate change is impacting herbivore population sizes and their habitats. In this study, we assessed the spatial habitat overlap of a vertebrate herbivore community based on: 1) regional predictive summer habitat suitability models for the resident Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus), resident Svalbard rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta hyperborea), and the migratory pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus), and 2) presence of fecal pellets, reflecting the annual habitat use of reindeer, ptarmigan, and geese, including the pink-footed goose and barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis). Our findings revealed that only small proportions of the available land cover (∼ 12,516 km2; all land area excluding glaciers and freshwater) are suitable for each of the species (habitat suitability [HS] > 0.5): reindeer (22 %), ptarmigan (11 %), and pink-footed goose (4 %). Overlapping suitable habitat [HS > 0.5] for reindeer and goose accounted for only 3 % of the total vegetated area (∼ 8848 km2) and was primarily found in heath and moist habitats dominated by mosses, graminoids, and herbaceous plants. The overlapping suitable habitat for reindeer and ptarmigan covered 8 % of the vegetated area, predominantly in higher elevation ridges with vegetation on drier substrates. The shared habitat for ptarmigan and goose, and all three species of herbivores, was less than 1 % of the vegetated area. Additionally, an assessment of fecal pellets suggested that the highest overlap in habitat use among reindeer and goose occurred in bird cliff moss tundra, followed by moss tundra and heath habitats. The small proportion of the vegetated area suitable for all three ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Anser brachyrhynchus Arctic Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis Climate change Lagopus muta Lagopus muta hyperborea Pink-footed Goose Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus rock ptarmigan Svalbard svalbard reindeer Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Svalbard Global Ecology and Conservation 49 e02797 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Goose Habitat suitability Management Ptarmigan Reindeer Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Goose Habitat suitability Management Ptarmigan Reindeer Ecology QH540-549.5 Virve Ravolainen Ingrid M.G. Paulsen Isabell Eischeid Jennifer Sorensen Forbey Eva Fuglei Tomáš Hájek Brage B. Hansen Leif Egil Loe Petr Macek Jesper Madsen Eeva M. Soininen James D.M. Speed Audun Stien Hans Tømmervik Åshild Ønvik Pedersen Low spatial habitat overlap of herbivores in the High Arctic tundra |
topic_facet |
Goose Habitat suitability Management Ptarmigan Reindeer Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Herbivores play a crucial role in shaping tundra ecosystems through their effects on vegetation, nutrient cycling, and soil abiotic factors. Understanding their habitat use, co-occurrence, and overlap is therefore essential for informing ecosystem-based management and conservation. In the High Arctic, only a marginal proportion of the land area is vegetated, and climate change is impacting herbivore population sizes and their habitats. In this study, we assessed the spatial habitat overlap of a vertebrate herbivore community based on: 1) regional predictive summer habitat suitability models for the resident Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus), resident Svalbard rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta hyperborea), and the migratory pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus), and 2) presence of fecal pellets, reflecting the annual habitat use of reindeer, ptarmigan, and geese, including the pink-footed goose and barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis). Our findings revealed that only small proportions of the available land cover (∼ 12,516 km2; all land area excluding glaciers and freshwater) are suitable for each of the species (habitat suitability [HS] > 0.5): reindeer (22 %), ptarmigan (11 %), and pink-footed goose (4 %). Overlapping suitable habitat [HS > 0.5] for reindeer and goose accounted for only 3 % of the total vegetated area (∼ 8848 km2) and was primarily found in heath and moist habitats dominated by mosses, graminoids, and herbaceous plants. The overlapping suitable habitat for reindeer and ptarmigan covered 8 % of the vegetated area, predominantly in higher elevation ridges with vegetation on drier substrates. The shared habitat for ptarmigan and goose, and all three species of herbivores, was less than 1 % of the vegetated area. Additionally, an assessment of fecal pellets suggested that the highest overlap in habitat use among reindeer and goose occurred in bird cliff moss tundra, followed by moss tundra and heath habitats. The small proportion of the vegetated area suitable for all three ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Virve Ravolainen Ingrid M.G. Paulsen Isabell Eischeid Jennifer Sorensen Forbey Eva Fuglei Tomáš Hájek Brage B. Hansen Leif Egil Loe Petr Macek Jesper Madsen Eeva M. Soininen James D.M. Speed Audun Stien Hans Tømmervik Åshild Ønvik Pedersen |
author_facet |
Virve Ravolainen Ingrid M.G. Paulsen Isabell Eischeid Jennifer Sorensen Forbey Eva Fuglei Tomáš Hájek Brage B. Hansen Leif Egil Loe Petr Macek Jesper Madsen Eeva M. Soininen James D.M. Speed Audun Stien Hans Tømmervik Åshild Ønvik Pedersen |
author_sort |
Virve Ravolainen |
title |
Low spatial habitat overlap of herbivores in the High Arctic tundra |
title_short |
Low spatial habitat overlap of herbivores in the High Arctic tundra |
title_full |
Low spatial habitat overlap of herbivores in the High Arctic tundra |
title_fullStr |
Low spatial habitat overlap of herbivores in the High Arctic tundra |
title_full_unstemmed |
Low spatial habitat overlap of herbivores in the High Arctic tundra |
title_sort |
low spatial habitat overlap of herbivores in the high arctic tundra |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e02797 https://doaj.org/article/e0e4df41e0084990888400a622d2bf00 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard |
genre |
Anser brachyrhynchus Arctic Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis Climate change Lagopus muta Lagopus muta hyperborea Pink-footed Goose Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus rock ptarmigan Svalbard svalbard reindeer Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Tundra |
genre_facet |
Anser brachyrhynchus Arctic Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis Climate change Lagopus muta Lagopus muta hyperborea Pink-footed Goose Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus rock ptarmigan Svalbard svalbard reindeer Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Tundra |
op_source |
Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 49, Iss , Pp e02797- (2024) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424000015 https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894 2351-9894 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e02797 https://doaj.org/article/e0e4df41e0084990888400a622d2bf00 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e02797 |
container_title |
Global Ecology and Conservation |
container_volume |
49 |
container_start_page |
e02797 |
_version_ |
1790598181191417856 |