Snow-mediated ptarmigan browsing and shrub expansion in Arctic Alaska

Ecoscience

Volumn 17, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 186-193

  Tape, Ken D ^a   Lord, Rachel ^a   Marshall, Hans Peter ^b   Ruess, Roger W ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS   (United States)

^b BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

browsing; greening; ptarmigan; shrubs; snow; tundra

Indexed keywords

ARCTIC ENVIRONMENT; BROWSING; DICOTYLEDON; GAMEBIRD; HEADWATER; MORPHOLOGY; PATCH SIZE; PHOTOGRAPHY; POPULATION MIGRATION; SHRUB; SNOW COVER; TUNDRA;

ALASKA; BROOKS RANGE; TOOLIK LAKE; UNITED STATES;

SALIX; SALIX ALAXENSIS;

EID: 77954418939     PISSN: 11956860     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2980/17-2-3323     Document Type: Article

References (54)

1. Abraham, K. F., R. L. Jefferies & R. T. Alisauskas, 2005. The dynamics of landscape change and snow geese in mid-continent North America. Global Change Biology, 11: 841-855.
2. Aunapuu, M., J. Dahlgren, T. Oksanen, D. Grellmann, L Oksanen, J. Olofsson, U. Rammul, M. Schneider, B. Johansen & H. O. Hygen, 2008. Spatial patterns and dynamic responses of arctic food webs corroborate the exploitation ecosystems hypothesis (EEH). American Naturalist, 171: 249-262.
3. Batzli, G. O. & H. Henttonen, 1990. Demography and resource use by microtine rodents near Toolik Lake, Alaska, U.S.A. Arctic and Alpine Research, 22: 51-64.
4. Berezovskaya, S. L., J. E. Derry, D. I. Kane, R. E. Geick, M. R. Lilly & D. M. White, 2008. Snow Survey Data for the Kuparuk Foothills Hydrology Study: Spring 2008. Report INE/WERC 08.14. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center, Fairbanks, Alaska.
5. Best, T. L. & T. H. Henry, 1994. Lepus othus. Mammalian Species, 458: 1-5.
6. Boertje, R. D., 1984. Seasonal diets of the Denali caribou herd, Alaska. Arctic, 37: 161-165.
7. Bowyer, R. T. & J. A. Neville, 2003. Effects of browsing history by Alaskan moose on regrowth and quality of Felt-leaf willow. Alces, 39: 193-202.
8. Bryant, J. P., 1987. Feltleaf willow-Snowshoe hare interactions: Plant carbon/nutrient balance and floodplain succession. Ecology, 68: 1319-1327.
9. Bryant, J. P. & P. J. Kuropat, 1980. Selection of winter forage by subarctic browsing vertebrates: The role of plant chemistry. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 11: 261-285.
10. Bryant, J. P., G. D. Wieland, T. Clausen & P. Kuropat, 1985. Interactions of Snowshoe hare and Feltleaf willow in Alaska. Ecology, 66: 1564-1573.
11. Butler, L. G. & K. Kielland, 2008. Acceleration of vegetation turnover and element cycling by mammalian herbivory in riparian ecosystems. Journal of Ecology, 96: 136-144.
12. CAVM Team, 2003. Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map. Scale 1:7 500 000. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Map No. 1. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska.
13. Chapin, F. S., III, G. R. Shaver, A. E. Giblin, K. J. Nadelhoffer & J. A. Laundre, 1995. Responses of arctic tundra to experimental and observed changes in climate. Ecology, 76: 694-711.
14. Chapin, F. S., III, M. Sturm, M. C. Serreze, J. P. McFadden, A. H. Lloyd, A. D. McGuire, T. S. Rupp, A. H. Lynch, J. P. Shimel, J. Baringer, W. L. Chapman, H. E. Epstein, E. S. Euskirchen, L. D. Hinzman, G. Jia, C.-L. Ping, K. D. Tape, C. D. C. Thompson, D. A. Walker & J. M. Welker, 2005. Role of land-surface changes in Arctic summer warming. Science, 310: 657-660.
15. Crête, M. & G. J. Doucet, 1998. Persistent suppression in dwarf birch after release from heavy summer browsing by caribou. Arctic and Alpine Research, 30: 126-132.
16. den Herder, M., R. Virtanen & H. Roininen, 2004. Effects of reindeer browsing on tundra willow and its associated insect herbivores. Journal of Applied Ecology, 41: 870-879.
17. Frank, D. A., 2007. Drought effects on above- and belowground production of a grazed temperate grassland ecosystem. Oecologia, 152: 131-139.
18. Fung, I., 1997. A greener north. Nature, 386: 659-660.
19. Goetz, S. J., A. G. Bunn, G. J. Fiske & R. A. Houghton, 2005. Satellite-observed photosynthetic trends across boreal North America associated with climate and fire disturbance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102: 13521-13525.
20. Greenberg, R., J. S. Ortiz & C. M. Caballero, 1994. Aggressive competition for critical resources among migratory birds in the Neotropics. Bird Conservation International, 4: 115-127.
21. Hakkarainen, H., R. Virtanen, J. O. Honkanen & H. Roininen, 2007. Willow bud and shoot foraging by ptarmigan in relation to snow level in NW Finnish Lapland. Polar Biology, 30: 619-624.
22. Hamilton, E. W., III & D. A. Frank, 2001. Can plants stimulate soil microbes and their own nutrient supply? Evidence from a grazing tolerant grass. Ecology, 82: 2397-2402.
23. Hansen, B. B., S. Henriksen, R. Aanes & B. E. Sæther, 2007. Ungulate impact on vegetation in a two-level trophic system. Polar Biology, 30: 549-558.
24. Helle, E., 1981. Riekon talviravinnon koostumuksesta ja valinnasta Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla (Summary: Preference for different types of winter forage in the willow grouse [Lagopus lagopus L.] in the northern part of Ostrobotnia, Finland). Suom Riista, 28: 15-20.
25. Hulten, E., 1968. Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories: A Manual of the Vascular Plants. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
26. Irving, L., 1953. The naming of birds by Nunamiut Eskimo. Arctic, 6: 35-43.
27. Irving, L., G. C. West, L. J. Peyton & S. Paneak, 1967. Migration of Willow ptarmigan in arctic Alaska. Arctic, 20: 77-85.
28. Jia, G. J., H. E. Epstein & D. A. Walker, 2003. Greening of arctic Alaska. Geophysical Research Letters, 3020: 20-67.
29. Jia, G. J., H. E. Epstein & D. A. Walker, 2004. Controls over intraseasonal dynamics of AVHRR NDVI for the arctic tundra in northern Alaska. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 25: 1547-1564.
30. Joly, K., R. R. Jandt, C. R. Meyers & M. J. Cole, 2007. Changes in vegetative cover on Western Arctic Herd winter range from 1981-2005: Potential effects of grazing and climate change. Rangifer, Special Issue 17: 199-207.
31. Kielland, K. & J. P. Bryant, 1998. Moose herbivory in taiga: Effects on biogeochemistry and vegetation dynamics in primary succession. Oikos, 82: 377-383.
32. Mack, M. C., E. A. G. Shur, M. S. Bret-Harte, G. R. Shaver & F. S. Chapin III, 2004. Ecosystem carbon storage in arctic tundra reduced by long-term nutrient fertilization. Nature, 431: 440-443.
33. Massey, F. J., 1951. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for goodness of fit. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 46: 68-78.
34. McFadden, J. P., F. S. Chapin III & D. Y. Hollinger, 1998. Subgridscale variability in the surface energy balance of arctic tundra. Journal of Geophysical Research, 103: 28947-28961.
35. McNaughton, S. J., 1984. Grazing lawns: Animals in herds, plant form, and coevolution. American Naturalist, 124: 863-886.
36. Myneni, R. B., C. D. Keeling, C. J. Tucker, G. Asrar & R. R. Nemani, 1997. Increased plant growth in the northern high latitudes from 1981 to 1991. Nature, 38: 698-702.
37. Moss, R., 1973. The digestion and intake of winter foods by wild ptarmigan in Alaska. Condor, 75: 293-300.
38. Person, B. T., M. P. Herzog, R. W. Ruess, J. S. Sedinger, R. M. Anthony & C. A. Babcock, 2003. Feedback dynamics of grazing lawns: Coupling vegetation change with animal growth. Oecologia, 135: 583-592.
39. Pitelka, F. A., 1974. An avifaunal review for the Barrow region and North Slope of arctic Alaska. Arctic and Alpine Research, 6: 161-184.
40. Post, E. & C. Pedersen, 2008. Opposing plant community responses to warming with and without herbivores. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105: 12353-12358.
41. Pulliainen, E. & J. Iivanainen, 1981.Winter nutrition of the willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus L.) in the extreme north of Finland. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 18: 263-269.
42. Rausch, R., 1951. Notes on the Nunamiut Eskimo and mammals of the Anaktuvuk Pass region, Brooks Range, Alaska. Arctic, 3: 147-195.
43. Schaeffer, J. A., S. D. Stevens & F. Messier, 1996. Comparative winter habitat use and associations among herbivores in the High Arctic. Arctic, 49: 387-391.
44. Sturm, M., J. Holmgren, J. P. McFadden, G. E. Liston, F. S. Chapin III & C. Racine, 2000. Snow-shrub interactions in arctic tundra: A hypothesis with climatic implications. Journal of Climate, 14: 336-344.
45. Sturm, M., T. Douglas, C. Racine & G. E. Liston, 2005. Changing snow and shrub conditions affect albedo with global implications. Journal of Geophysical Research, 110: doi: 10.1029/2005JG000013
46. Tape, K., M. Sturm & C. Racine, 2006. The evidence for shrub expansion in northern Alaska and the pan-Arctic. Global Change Biology, 12: 686-702.
47. Uliassi, D. D. & R. W. Ruess, 2002. Limitations to symbiotic nitrogen fixation in primary succession in the Tanana River floodplain. Ecology, 83: 88-103.
48. Verbyla, D., 2008. The greening and browning of Alaska based on 1982-2003 satellite data. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 17: 547-555.
49. Walker, M. D., D. A. Walker & N. A. Auerbach, 1994. Plant communities of a tussock tundra landscape in the Brooks Range Foothills, Alaska. Journal of Vegetation Science, 5: 843-866.
50. Weeden, R. B., 1969. Foods of rock and willow ptarmigan in central Alaska with comments on interspecific competition. Auk, 86: 271-281.
51. West, G. C. & M. S. Meng, 1966. Nutrition of willow ptarmigan in northern Alaska. Auk, 83: 603-615.
52. Williams, J. B., D. Best & C. Warford, 1980. Foraging ecology of ptarmigan at Meade River, Alaska. Wilson Bulletin, 92: 341-351.
53. Wilson, D. E. & D. A. M. Reeder, 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
54. Zhou, L., C. J. Tucker, R. K. Kaufman, D. Slayback, N. V. Shabanov & R. B. Myneni, 2001. Variations in northern vegetation activity inferred from satellite data of vegetation index during 1981 to 1999. Journal of Geophysical Research, 106: 20069-20083.