How spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in Arctic tundra.

The Arctic tundra is currently experiencing an unprecedented combination of climate change, change in grazing pressure by large herbivores and growing human activity. Thickets of tall shrubs represent a conspicuous vegetation state in northern and temperate ecosystems, where it serves important ecol...

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Autores principales:	John-André Henden, Nigel G Yoccoz, Rolf A Ims, Knut Langeland
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/2534a96692434c189ac088b2904b1b06
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:2534a96692434c189ac088b2904b1b062021-11-18T07:45:52ZHow spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in Arctic tundra.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0063312https://doaj.org/article/2534a96692434c189ac088b2904b1b062013-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23691020/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203The Arctic tundra is currently experiencing an unprecedented combination of climate change, change in grazing pressure by large herbivores and growing human activity. Thickets of tall shrubs represent a conspicuous vegetation state in northern and temperate ecosystems, where it serves important ecological functions, including habitat for wildlife. Thickets are however labile, as tall shrubs respond rapidly to both abiotic and biotic environmental drivers. Our aim was to assess how large-scale spatial variation in willow thicket areal extent, configuration and habitat structure affected bird abundance, occupancy rates and species richness so as to provide an empirical basis for predicting the outcome of environmental change for riparian tundra bird communities. Based on a 4-year count data series, obtained through a large-scale study design in low arctic tundra in northern Norway, statistical hierarchical community models were deployed to assess relations between habitat configuration and bird species occupancy and community richness. We found that species abundance, occupancy and richness were greatly affected by willow areal extent and configuration, habitat features likely to be affected by intense ungulate browsing as well as climate warming. In sum, total species richness was maximized in large and tall willow patches of small to intermediate degree of fragmentation. These community effects were mainly driven by responses in the occupancy rates of species depending on tall willows for foraging and breeding, while species favouring other vegetation states were not affected. In light of the predicted climate driven willow shrub encroachment in riparian tundra habitats, our study predicts that many bird species would increase in abundance, and that the bird community as a whole could become enriched. Conversely, in tundra regions where overabundance of large herbivores leads to decreased areal extent, reduced height and increased fragmentation of willow thickets, bird community richness and species-specific abundance are likely to be significantly reduced.John-André HendenNigel G YoccozRolf A ImsKnut LangelandPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 5, p e63312 (2013)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q John-André Henden Nigel G Yoccoz Rolf A Ims Knut Langeland How spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in Arctic tundra.
description	The Arctic tundra is currently experiencing an unprecedented combination of climate change, change in grazing pressure by large herbivores and growing human activity. Thickets of tall shrubs represent a conspicuous vegetation state in northern and temperate ecosystems, where it serves important ecological functions, including habitat for wildlife. Thickets are however labile, as tall shrubs respond rapidly to both abiotic and biotic environmental drivers. Our aim was to assess how large-scale spatial variation in willow thicket areal extent, configuration and habitat structure affected bird abundance, occupancy rates and species richness so as to provide an empirical basis for predicting the outcome of environmental change for riparian tundra bird communities. Based on a 4-year count data series, obtained through a large-scale study design in low arctic tundra in northern Norway, statistical hierarchical community models were deployed to assess relations between habitat configuration and bird species occupancy and community richness. We found that species abundance, occupancy and richness were greatly affected by willow areal extent and configuration, habitat features likely to be affected by intense ungulate browsing as well as climate warming. In sum, total species richness was maximized in large and tall willow patches of small to intermediate degree of fragmentation. These community effects were mainly driven by responses in the occupancy rates of species depending on tall willows for foraging and breeding, while species favouring other vegetation states were not affected. In light of the predicted climate driven willow shrub encroachment in riparian tundra habitats, our study predicts that many bird species would increase in abundance, and that the bird community as a whole could become enriched. Conversely, in tundra regions where overabundance of large herbivores leads to decreased areal extent, reduced height and increased fragmentation of willow thickets, bird community richness and species-specific abundance are likely to be significantly reduced.
format	article
author	John-André Henden Nigel G Yoccoz Rolf A Ims Knut Langeland
author_facet	John-André Henden Nigel G Yoccoz Rolf A Ims Knut Langeland
author_sort	John-André Henden
title	How spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in Arctic tundra.
title_short	How spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in Arctic tundra.
title_full	How spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in Arctic tundra.
title_fullStr	How spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in Arctic tundra.
title_full_unstemmed	How spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in Arctic tundra.
title_sort	how spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in arctic tundra.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2013
url	https://doaj.org/article/2534a96692434c189ac088b2904b1b06
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How spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in Arctic tundra.

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