Ecosystem functioning influences species fitness at upper trophic levels

Global change is severely affecting ecosystem functioning and biodiversity globally. Remotely sensed ecosystem functional attributes (EFAs) are integrative descriptors of the environmental change—being closely related to the processes directly affecting food chains via trophic cascades. Here we test...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecosystems
Main Authors: Regos Sanz, Adrián, Tapia del Río, Luis Enrique, Arenas Castro, Salvador, Gil Carrera, Alberto, Domínguez Conde, Jesús
Other Authors: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Departamento de Zooloxía, Xenética e Antropoloxía Física
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer
Subjects:
Golden Eagle
Primary production
Ecosystem functioning
Land surface temperature and Albedo
Ecological fitness
Remote sensing time series
Aquila chrysaetos
golden eagle
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10347/28988
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-021-00699-5
Description
Summary:Global change is severely affecting ecosystem functioning and biodiversity globally. Remotely sensed ecosystem functional attributes (EFAs) are integrative descriptors of the environmental change—being closely related to the processes directly affecting food chains via trophic cascades. Here we tested if EFAs can explain the species fitness at upper trophic levels. We took advantage of a long-term time series database of the reproductive success of the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)—an apex predator at the upper trophic level—over a 17-year period across a bioclimatic gradient (NW Spain; c. 29,575 km2). We computed a comprehensive database of EFAs from three MODIS satellite-products related to the carbon cycle, heat dynamics and radiative balance. We also assessed possible time-lag in the response of the Golden Eagle to fire, a critical disruptor of the surface energy budget in our region. We explored the role of EFAs on the fitness of the Golden Eagle with logistic-exposure nest survival models. Our models showed that the reproductive performance of the Golden Eagle is influenced by spatiotemporal variations in land surface temperature, albedo and vegetation productivity (AUC values from 0.71 to 0.8; ΣWi EFAs from 0.66 to 1). Fire disturbance also affected ecological fitness of this apex predator—with a limited effect at 3 years after fire (a time-lagged response to surface energy budget disruptions; ΣWi Fire = 0.62). Our study provides evidence for the influence of the matter and energy fluxes between land surface and atmosphere on the reproductive success of species at upper trophic levels Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature SI

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