Small herbivores with big impacts: Tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus) alter post‐fire ecosystem dynamics. Issue 7 (25th May 2022)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Small herbivores with big impacts: Tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus) alter post‐fire ecosystem dynamics. Issue 7 (25th May 2022)
- Main Title:
- Small herbivores with big impacts: Tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus) alter post‐fire ecosystem dynamics
- Authors:
- Steketee, Jess K.
Rocha, Adrian V.
Gough, Laura
Griffin, Kevin L.
Klupar, Ian
An, Ruby
Williamson, Nicole
Rowe, Rebecca J. - Abstract:
- Abstract: Fire is an important ecological disturbance that can reset ecosystems and initiate changes in plant community composition, ecosystem biogeochemistry, and primary productivity. As herbivores rely on primary producers for food, changes in vegetation may alter plant–herbivore interactions with important—but often unexplored—feedbacks to ecosystems. Here we examined the impact of post‐fire changes in plant community composition and structure on habitat suitability and rodent herbivore activity in response to a large, severe, and unprecedented fire in northern Alaskan tundra. In moist acidic tundra where the fire occurred, tundra voles ( Microtus oeconomus ) are the dominant herbivore and rely on the tussock forming sedge Eriophorum vaginatum for both food and nesting material. Tundra voles were 10 times more abundant at the burned site compared with nearby unburned tundra 7‐12 years after the fire. Fire increased the habitat suitability for voles by increasing plant productivity and biomass, food quality, and cover through both taller vegetation and increased microtopography. As a result of elevated vole abundance, Eriophorum mortality caused by vole herbivory was two orders of magnitude higher than natural mortality and approached the magnitude of the mortality rate resulting directly from the fire. These findings suggest that post‐fire increases in herbivore pressure on Eriophorum could, in turn, disrupt graminoid recovery and enhance shrub encroachment. Tundra stateAbstract: Fire is an important ecological disturbance that can reset ecosystems and initiate changes in plant community composition, ecosystem biogeochemistry, and primary productivity. As herbivores rely on primary producers for food, changes in vegetation may alter plant–herbivore interactions with important—but often unexplored—feedbacks to ecosystems. Here we examined the impact of post‐fire changes in plant community composition and structure on habitat suitability and rodent herbivore activity in response to a large, severe, and unprecedented fire in northern Alaskan tundra. In moist acidic tundra where the fire occurred, tundra voles ( Microtus oeconomus ) are the dominant herbivore and rely on the tussock forming sedge Eriophorum vaginatum for both food and nesting material. Tundra voles were 10 times more abundant at the burned site compared with nearby unburned tundra 7‐12 years after the fire. Fire increased the habitat suitability for voles by increasing plant productivity and biomass, food quality, and cover through both taller vegetation and increased microtopography. As a result of elevated vole abundance, Eriophorum mortality caused by vole herbivory was two orders of magnitude higher than natural mortality and approached the magnitude of the mortality rate resulting directly from the fire. These findings suggest that post‐fire increases in herbivore pressure on Eriophorum could, in turn, disrupt graminoid recovery and enhance shrub encroachment. Tundra state transitions from graminoid to shrub dominated are also evident following other disturbances and fertilization experiments, suggesting that as Arctic temperatures rise, greater available nutrients and increased frequencies of large‐scale disturbances may also alter plant–animal interactions with cascading impacts on plant communities and ecosystem function. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Ecology. Volume 103:Issue 7(2022)
- Journal:
- Ecology
- Issue:
- Volume 103:Issue 7(2022)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 103, Issue 7 (2022)
- Year:
- 2022
- Volume:
- 103
- Issue:
- 7
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2022-0103-0007-0000
- Page Start:
- n/a
- Page End:
- n/a
- Publication Date:
- 2022-05-25
- Subjects:
- Anaktuvuk River fire -- Arctic -- disturbance -- ecosystem state transition -- Eriophorum vaginatum -- herbivory -- plant–animal interactions -- rodent -- succession -- tundra
Ecology -- Periodicals
Ecology -- Periodicals
Écologie -- Périodiques
Ecologie
Écologie
Écologie animale
Écologie végétale
Ecology
Periodicals
577.05 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.jstor.org/journals/00129658.html ↗
http://www.esajournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-archive&issn=0012-9658 ↗
http://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1939-9170/ ↗
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1002/ecy.3689 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0012-9658
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 3650.000000
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- 22272.xml