Weather and biotic interactions as determinants of seasonal shifts in abundance measured through nest-box occupancy in the Siberian flying squirrel
It is much debated whether the direct effects of weather or biotic interactions determine species’ responses to climate change. For example, an important biotic factor for herbivores in northern ecosystems is the availability of winter food. If the food availability changes because of the changing c...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | , |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Nature Research
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/165665 |
id |
ftunivturku:oai:www.utupub.fi:10024/165665 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivturku:oai:www.utupub.fi:10024/165665 2023-05-15T18:27:34+02:00 Weather and biotic interactions as determinants of seasonal shifts in abundance measured through nest-box occupancy in the Siberian flying squirrel Vesa Selonen Erkki Korpimäki Tytti Turkia Mikko Hänninen Kari Hongisto ekologia ja evoluutiobiologia, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 2606402 2022-10-28T13:30:30Z https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/165665 en eng Nature Research Britannia United Kingdom GB 10 10.1038/s41598-020-71391-2 Scientific Reports 1 https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/165665 URN:NBN:fi-fe2021042827412 2045-2322 2022 ftunivturku 2022-11-03T00:01:19Z It is much debated whether the direct effects of weather or biotic interactions determine species’ responses to climate change. For example, an important biotic factor for herbivores in northern ecosystems is the availability of winter food. If the food availability changes because of the changing climate, it likely has major impact on the abundance of herbivores. To evaluate this, we need to know the relative roles of weather and biotic interactions, such as food availability and risk of predation, for the species. Here, we utilize long-term data on nest-box occupancy by Siberian flying squirrels (Pteromys volans) in Finland during 2002–2018. We built binary models with nest-box occupancy in different seasons as a response variable. Weather, winter food (tree mast), and predator presence (the Ural owl, Strix uralensis) modified seasonal nest-box occupancy patterns of the flying squirrel. However, the effect of weather was only important in the summer. The negative effect of predators was clear for adults but, surprisingly, not for overwinter survival of apparent juveniles. Considering the relative importance of different factors, winter food availability had a clear positive effect in each season. Our study supports the view that the effects of climate change mediate through multiple biotic interactions. In forest ecosystems, responses of masting trees to weather likely play an important role in species responses to climate change. Other/Unknown Material Strix uralensis Ural Owl University of Turku: UTUPub |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Turku: UTUPub |
op_collection_id |
ftunivturku |
language |
English |
description |
It is much debated whether the direct effects of weather or biotic interactions determine species’ responses to climate change. For example, an important biotic factor for herbivores in northern ecosystems is the availability of winter food. If the food availability changes because of the changing climate, it likely has major impact on the abundance of herbivores. To evaluate this, we need to know the relative roles of weather and biotic interactions, such as food availability and risk of predation, for the species. Here, we utilize long-term data on nest-box occupancy by Siberian flying squirrels (Pteromys volans) in Finland during 2002–2018. We built binary models with nest-box occupancy in different seasons as a response variable. Weather, winter food (tree mast), and predator presence (the Ural owl, Strix uralensis) modified seasonal nest-box occupancy patterns of the flying squirrel. However, the effect of weather was only important in the summer. The negative effect of predators was clear for adults but, surprisingly, not for overwinter survival of apparent juveniles. Considering the relative importance of different factors, winter food availability had a clear positive effect in each season. Our study supports the view that the effects of climate change mediate through multiple biotic interactions. In forest ecosystems, responses of masting trees to weather likely play an important role in species responses to climate change. |
author2 |
ekologia ja evoluutiobiologia, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 2606402 |
author |
Vesa Selonen Erkki Korpimäki Tytti Turkia Mikko Hänninen Kari Hongisto |
spellingShingle |
Vesa Selonen Erkki Korpimäki Tytti Turkia Mikko Hänninen Kari Hongisto Weather and biotic interactions as determinants of seasonal shifts in abundance measured through nest-box occupancy in the Siberian flying squirrel |
author_facet |
Vesa Selonen Erkki Korpimäki Tytti Turkia Mikko Hänninen Kari Hongisto |
author_sort |
Vesa Selonen |
title |
Weather and biotic interactions as determinants of seasonal shifts in abundance measured through nest-box occupancy in the Siberian flying squirrel |
title_short |
Weather and biotic interactions as determinants of seasonal shifts in abundance measured through nest-box occupancy in the Siberian flying squirrel |
title_full |
Weather and biotic interactions as determinants of seasonal shifts in abundance measured through nest-box occupancy in the Siberian flying squirrel |
title_fullStr |
Weather and biotic interactions as determinants of seasonal shifts in abundance measured through nest-box occupancy in the Siberian flying squirrel |
title_full_unstemmed |
Weather and biotic interactions as determinants of seasonal shifts in abundance measured through nest-box occupancy in the Siberian flying squirrel |
title_sort |
weather and biotic interactions as determinants of seasonal shifts in abundance measured through nest-box occupancy in the siberian flying squirrel |
publisher |
Nature Research |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/165665 |
genre |
Strix uralensis Ural Owl |
genre_facet |
Strix uralensis Ural Owl |
op_relation |
10 10.1038/s41598-020-71391-2 Scientific Reports 1 https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/165665 URN:NBN:fi-fe2021042827412 2045-2322 |
_version_ |
1766209694733434880 |