Effects of changing permafrost and snow conditions on tundra wildlife: critical places and times
The change of water phase around 0째C has considerable impacts on wildlife ecology because liquid and solid water strongly differ in their insulating capability, mechanical resistance, and light reflectance. Freeze and melt events thus have strong ecological relevance, particularly in the Arctic wher...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Review |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
NRC Research Press (a division of Canadian Science Publishing)
2016
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1807/75841 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/AS-2016-0023 |
| Summary: | The change of water phase around 0째C has considerable impacts on wildlife ecology because liquid and solid water strongly differ in their insulating capability, mechanical resistance, and light reflectance. Freeze and melt events thus have strong ecological relevance, particularly in the Arctic where snow and ice are omnipresent and their conditions are changing due to climate warming. We first review the mechanisms linking water phase transitions to wildlife ecology, with emphasis on seven key processes. These processes are illustrated with examples or detailed case studies, such as snowmelt and icing events affecting herbivore populations, thaw-induced collapse of structures used by wildlife for reproduction, and thermal erosion of ice wedges reducing waterfowl habitat. We infer that water phase transitions generate some critical places and critical times that play a disproportionate role in the ecology of tundra wildlife. We map these critical places and times to help structure future research on the effects of climate change on tundra wildlife, in a context where changing permafrost and snow conditions might trigger abrupt ecological responses in the Arctic tundra. The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author. |
|---|