Marie-Christine Cadieux

Long-term monitoring at multiple trophic levels suggests heterogeneity in responses to climate change in the Canadian Arctic tundra

Arctic wildlife is often presented as being highly at risk in the face of current climate warming. We use the long-term (up to 24 years) monitoring records available on Bylot Island in the Canadian Arctic to examine temporal trends in population attributes of several terrestrial vertebrates and in primary production. Despite a warming trend (e.g. cumulative annual thawing degree-days increased by 37% and snow-melt date advanced by 4–7 days over a 23-year period), we found little evidence for changes in the phenology, abundance or productivity of several vertebrate species (snow goose, foxes, lemmings, avian predators and one passerine). Only primary production showed a response to warming (annual above-ground biomass of wetland graminoids increased by 123% during this period). We nonetheless found evidence for potential mismatches between herbivores and their food plants in response to warming as snow geese adjusted their laying date by only 3.8 days on average for a change in snow-melt of 10 days, half of the corresponding adjustment shown by the timing of plant growth (7.1 days). We discuss several reasons (duration of time series, large annual variability, amplitude of observed climate change, nonlinear dynamic or constraints imposed by various rate of warming with latitude in migrants) to explain the lack of response by herbivores and predators to climate warming at our study site. We also show how length and intensity of monitoring could affect our ability to detect temporal trends and provide recommendations for future monitoring.

The tundra food web of Bylot Island in a changing climate and the role of exchanges between ecosystems

Abstract: It is increasingly recognized that ecosystems are not closed systems and that exchanges of resources across ecosystem boundaries can have repercussions on food webs, especially in low productivity systems such as the terrestrial Arctic. However, because these exchanges can take multiple forms, assessing their significance in the functioning of the tundra food web is difficult. In this paper, we first review some important concepts related to resource exchanges between ecosystems and examine their relevance to the study of trophic interactions in the arctic tundra. An analysis of the Bylot Island food web in the Canadian Arctic using a mass-balance trophic model suggests that predators are the dominant force controlling this food web. However, an important feature of this ecosystem is that several top predators benefit from allochthonous inputs, either through the presence of migratory birds during the summer or the use of the marine environment as a foraging ground in winter. We also show that migratory birds may act as autochthonous resource exporters for lower trophic levels, for instance by removing nitrogen from the nutrient pool when young produced locally migrate south and die away from the system. Although these resource exchanges may be a general feature of several arctic terrestrial ecosystems, their importance in the functioning of the tundra food web remains to be determined. Through long-term monitoring, we found that primary production in wetlands of Bylot Island increased by 85% over a 20-y period, likely a consequence of the warming trend observed in the area. However, we have not detected any changes at higher trophic levels, which is consistent with a top-down control of this food web. Given the importance of resource exchanges between ecosystems in the dynamics of the tundra food web, a full investigation of the effects of climate change will require a broader cross-ecosystem perspective.

Disentangling trophic relationships in a High Arctic tundra ecosystem through food web modeling

Determining the manner in which food webs will respond to environmental changes is difficult because the relative importance of top-down vs. bottom-up forces in controlling ecosystems is still debated. This is especially true in the Arctic tundra where, despite relatively simple food webs, it is still unclear which forces dominate in this ecosystem. Our primary goal was to assess the extent to which a tundra food web was dominated by plant-herbivore or predator-prey interactions. Based on a 17-year (1993-2009) study of terrestrial wildlife on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, we developed trophic mass balance models to address this question. Snow Geese were the dominant herbivores in this ecosystem, followed by two sympatric lemming species (brown and collared lemmings). Arctic foxes, weasels, and several species of birds of prey were the dominant predators. Results of our trophic models encompassing 19 functional groups showed that <10% of the annual primary production was consumed by herbivores in most years despite the presence of a large Snow Goose colony, but that 20-100% of the annual herbivore production was consumed by predators. The impact of herbivores on vegetation has also weakened over time, probably due to an increase in primary production. The impact of predators was highest on lemmings, intermediate on passerines, and lowest on geese and shorebirds, but it varied with lemming abundance. Predation of collared lemmings exceeded production in most years and may explain why this species remained at low density. In contrast, the predation rate on brown lemmings varied with prey density and may have contributed to the high-amplitude, periodic fluctuations in the abundance of this species. Our analysis provided little evidence that herbivores are limited by primary production on Bylot Island. In contrast, we measured strong predator-prey interactions, which supports the hypothesis that this food web is primarily controlled by top-down forces. The presence of allochthonous resources subsidizing top predators and the absence of large herbivores may partly explain the predominant role of predation in this low-productivity ecosystem.

FEEDING ECOLOGY OF CANADA GEESE (BRANTA CANADENSIS INTERIOR) IN SUB-ARCTIC INLAND TUNDRA DURING BROOD-REARING

Abstract The diet of adult Canada Geese (Branta canadensis interior) and their goslings was determined during the brood-rearing season in a freshwater tundra habitat using esophageal contents from 25 adult females, 27 adult males, and 59 goslings. Habitat use by geese and the availability and quality of aboveground biomass in wet sedge meadows and around ponds in lichen-heath tundra were also evaluated throughout the summer. During the first four weeks of brood-rearing, adult Canada Geese ate primarily graminoids (>65%), especially leaves of the short form of Carex aquatilis and Eriophorum spp., which had the highest nitrogen concentration (2.5–3.5%). Although graminoids were also important for goslings, they consumed a greater variety of other plant species (68%) than adults, especially in the first two weeks, possibly because of their inexperience. Late in the brood-rearing period, as the nitrogen concentration of graminoid plants declined, adults shifted to a diet composed mainly of berries (>40%, mostly Empetrum nigrum). At that time, goslings consumed fewer berries (24%) and maintained a higher proportion of nitrogen-rich plants in their diet (53% leaves, mostly graminoids) than adults, presumably to complete their growth. Plant species consumed by geese over the summer indicated a preference for high-quality plants (i.e. those with a high nitrogen concentration). Consequently, wet sedge meadow, the habitat that offered plant species of highest quality, was the habitat most heavily used throughout the summer, particularly around peak hatch. Goose grazing had no effect on seasonal production of aboveground biomass of graminoids, probably because of the relatively low density of the goose population. Écologie alimentaire de Branta canadensis interior pendant la période d’élevage des jeunes dans un milieu d’eau douce sub-arctique

Diet and reproductive success of an Arctic generalist predator: Interplay between variations in prey abundance, nest site location, and intraguild predation

ABSTRACT Under varying prey abundance, generalist consumers should be less affected than specialists due to their more diverse diet. Nonetheless, when prey availability declines, interspecific competition among consumers should increase and could lead to increased intraguild predation. We examined these potential effects in a generalist predator of the tundra, the Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus), over a 7-yr period characterized by large fluctuations in lemming abundance, a potential prey item for gulls. We studied diet by analyzing regurgitated pellets collected at nests and blood nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes, and we monitored annual nesting density and reproductive success on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada. Stable isotopes revealed a relatively similar contribution of terrestrial and marine food sources to the gull diet, although the terrestrial contribution increased in the year of high lemming abundance. According to analysis of pellets, diet during incubation was dominated by geese and lemmings, whereas geese were the main prey during chick-rearing. As expected for a generalist predator, annual variation in diet during incubation reflected overall lemming abundance, and the increased consumption of geese during chick-rearing was associated with an influx of goose families into the study area at that time. Gull nest density, laying date, clutch size, and mass gain of chicks did not vary with lemming population fluctuations. Hatching success, on the other hand, was positively related to lemming abundance and was greater for nests located on islets than for those along the shores of ponds and lakes. Intraguild predation on gull eggs by predators such as Arctic foxes, which primarily feed on lemmings during the summer, was probably the main cause of nest failure. Although a generalist predator like the Glaucous Gull has a diversified diet and may feed only opportunistically on lemmings, our results suggest that large cyclical fluctuations in lemming abundance may still affect gull reproductive success through intraguild predation.