Spatiotemporal distribution of Arctic herbivores in spring: Potential for competition?
Biotic interactions are important to the structure and dynamics of food webs and may affect the spatial and temporal distribution of species. In the Arctic, spring snow-cover limits food availability at a critical time for herbivores, potentially leading to resource competition. This study investiga...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30199 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02521 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/30199 2023-09-05T13:12:06+02:00 Spatiotemporal distribution of Arctic herbivores in spring: Potential for competition? Grimsby, Anna Caroline Pedersen, Åshild Ønvik Ehrich, Dorothee Mosbacher, Jesper Bruun Garfelt Paulsen, Ingrid Marie Brockmann, Frida Kristine Ravolainen, Virve 2023-05-23 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30199 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02521 eng eng Elsevier Global Ecology and Conservation Grimsby, Pedersen, Ehrich, Mosbacher, Garfelt Paulsen, Brockmann, Ravolainen. Spatiotemporal distribution of Arctic herbivores in spring: Potential for competition?. Global Ecology and Conservation. 2023;45 FRIDAID 2159346 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02521 2351-9894 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30199 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) openAccess Copyright 2023 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2023 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02521 2023-08-23T23:07:11Z Biotic interactions are important to the structure and dynamics of food webs and may affect the spatial and temporal distribution of species. In the Arctic, spring snow-cover limits food availability at a critical time for herbivores, potentially leading to resource competition. This study investigates the potential for competition over forage resources during spring in a high-Arctic herbivore community comprising the resident, endemic Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) and Svalbard rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta hyperborea), and the migratory pinkfooted goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) and barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis). First, we investigated herbivore behaviour that could indicate the potential for competition by conducting a field study, and second, we quantified the effects of snow-cover extent, vegetation type and presence of potential herbivore competitors on the spatiotemporal distributions of herbivores using cameratraps in one early and one late snow melt year. Only reindeer and geese appeared with sufficient sample sizes for analysis. The field study revealed that reindeer and geese foraged in the same areas, particularly moss tundra habitats. Although geese were regularly alerted by reindeer, no direct aggressive interactions were observed. The camera-trap study showed that neither of the herbivores significantly affected the spatiotemporal distribution of its potential competitor, but reindeer and goose distribution was instead driven by snow-cover extent and vegetation type. However, the shared space use by these species may lead to different types of interactions, such as facilitation or exploitative competition, which require further assessment, including dietary overlap studies, particularly in the context of climate change-induced shifts in snow melt timing and herbivore abundances. Article in Journal/Newspaper Anser brachyrhynchus Arctic Arctic Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis Climate change Lagopus muta Lagopus muta hyperborea Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus rock ptarmigan Svalbard svalbard reindeer Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Tundra University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Arctic Svalbard |
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Open Polar |
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University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
description |
Biotic interactions are important to the structure and dynamics of food webs and may affect the spatial and temporal distribution of species. In the Arctic, spring snow-cover limits food availability at a critical time for herbivores, potentially leading to resource competition. This study investigates the potential for competition over forage resources during spring in a high-Arctic herbivore community comprising the resident, endemic Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) and Svalbard rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta hyperborea), and the migratory pinkfooted goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) and barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis). First, we investigated herbivore behaviour that could indicate the potential for competition by conducting a field study, and second, we quantified the effects of snow-cover extent, vegetation type and presence of potential herbivore competitors on the spatiotemporal distributions of herbivores using cameratraps in one early and one late snow melt year. Only reindeer and geese appeared with sufficient sample sizes for analysis. The field study revealed that reindeer and geese foraged in the same areas, particularly moss tundra habitats. Although geese were regularly alerted by reindeer, no direct aggressive interactions were observed. The camera-trap study showed that neither of the herbivores significantly affected the spatiotemporal distribution of its potential competitor, but reindeer and goose distribution was instead driven by snow-cover extent and vegetation type. However, the shared space use by these species may lead to different types of interactions, such as facilitation or exploitative competition, which require further assessment, including dietary overlap studies, particularly in the context of climate change-induced shifts in snow melt timing and herbivore abundances. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Grimsby, Anna Caroline Pedersen, Åshild Ønvik Ehrich, Dorothee Mosbacher, Jesper Bruun Garfelt Paulsen, Ingrid Marie Brockmann, Frida Kristine Ravolainen, Virve |
spellingShingle |
Grimsby, Anna Caroline Pedersen, Åshild Ønvik Ehrich, Dorothee Mosbacher, Jesper Bruun Garfelt Paulsen, Ingrid Marie Brockmann, Frida Kristine Ravolainen, Virve Spatiotemporal distribution of Arctic herbivores in spring: Potential for competition? |
author_facet |
Grimsby, Anna Caroline Pedersen, Åshild Ønvik Ehrich, Dorothee Mosbacher, Jesper Bruun Garfelt Paulsen, Ingrid Marie Brockmann, Frida Kristine Ravolainen, Virve |
author_sort |
Grimsby, Anna Caroline |
title |
Spatiotemporal distribution of Arctic herbivores in spring: Potential for competition? |
title_short |
Spatiotemporal distribution of Arctic herbivores in spring: Potential for competition? |
title_full |
Spatiotemporal distribution of Arctic herbivores in spring: Potential for competition? |
title_fullStr |
Spatiotemporal distribution of Arctic herbivores in spring: Potential for competition? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatiotemporal distribution of Arctic herbivores in spring: Potential for competition? |
title_sort |
spatiotemporal distribution of arctic herbivores in spring: potential for competition? |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30199 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02521 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard |
genre |
Anser brachyrhynchus Arctic Arctic Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis Climate change Lagopus muta Lagopus muta hyperborea Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus rock ptarmigan Svalbard svalbard reindeer Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Tundra |
genre_facet |
Anser brachyrhynchus Arctic Arctic Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis Climate change Lagopus muta Lagopus muta hyperborea Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus rock ptarmigan Svalbard svalbard reindeer Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Tundra |
op_relation |
Global Ecology and Conservation Grimsby, Pedersen, Ehrich, Mosbacher, Garfelt Paulsen, Brockmann, Ravolainen. Spatiotemporal distribution of Arctic herbivores in spring: Potential for competition?. Global Ecology and Conservation. 2023;45 FRIDAID 2159346 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02521 2351-9894 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30199 |
op_rights |
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) openAccess Copyright 2023 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02521 |
_version_ |
1776198951730413568 |