Scientific contributions and lessons learned from 30 years of ecological monitoring of the Bylot Island tundra ecosystem
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution,
Journal Year:
2024,
Volume and Issue:
12
Published: March 19, 2024
The
Arctic
tundra
has
a
relatively
low
biodiversity
but
species
living
there
have
unique
adaptations
and
are
exposed
to
unprecedented
rates
of
climate
warming.
Monitoring
changes
in
identifying
the
driving
forces
is
thus
pressing
issue.
Bylot
Island
Canadian
one
longest
most
comprehensive
monitoring
programs
food
web,
spanning
four
decades.
We
provide
historical
overview
ecological
studies
on
Island,
summarize
their
key
scientific
contributions,
show
impacts,
present
ingredients
for
success
program
main
challenges
encountered.
Some
major
contributions
include
demonstrating
role
predation
structuring
importance
exchanges
between
ecosystems
persistence
top
predators
cascading
effects
trophic
interactions,
apparent
resistance
vertebrate
biota
warming,
need
consider
multiple
hypotheses
explain
northward
range
expansion
benefits
integrating
data
local
knowledge
into
monitoring.
produced
>250
journal
articles
>80
graduate
student
theses,
which
generated
>7,700
citations
literature.
A
high
proportion
(65%)
had
more
than
comparable
publications
field.
longevity
can
be
attributed
several
factors,
including
researcher-driven
(i.e.
bottom-up)
approach
design
monitoring;
long-term
commitment
small
number
dedicated
researchers
strong
participation
students;
adoption
web
rather
single
perspective;
extensive
presence
field;
combination
methodological
approaches;
use
spatial
scales
adapted
research
questions
interest.
Challenges
encountered
funding
issues,
transfer
expertise
over
time,
limited
replication,
statistical
maintaining
partnerships.
Robust
essential
sound
baseline
detect
future
changes,
lessons
learned
from
our
could
improve
schemes
Arctic.
Paradoxically,
we
believe
that
been
successful
large
part
because
it
was
not
originally
designed
as
per
se.
Language: Английский
Linking geomorphological processes and wildlife microhabitat selection: nesting birds select refuges generated by permafrost degradation in the Arctic
Biogeosciences,
Journal Year:
2024,
Volume and Issue:
21(14), P. 3401 - 3423
Published: July 24, 2024
Abstract.
To
gain
better
insight
into
the
cascading
impact
of
warming-induced
changes
in
physical
landscape
on
biodiversity,
it
is
crucial
to
understand
links
between
abiotic
and
ecological
processes
governing
species
distribution.
Abiotic
shaping
characteristics
environment
could
significantly
influence
predator
movements
ultimately
affect
biodiversity
through
interspecific
interactions.
In
Arctic
tundra,
main
terrestrial
(Arctic
fox)
avoids
patches
wetlands
composed
ponds
with
islets
that
can
act
as
refuges
for
prey.
Little
known
about
geomorphological
generating
selected
by
prey
species.
Our
study
aimed
identify
(i)
Arctic-nesting
birds
(ii)
available
landscape.
Over
two
breeding
seasons,
we
determined
occurrence
nesting
(cackling
goose,
glaucous
gull,
red-throated
loon)
(N=396)
found
over
a
165
km2
area
Bylot
Island
(Nunavut,
Canada).
Occupied
were
located
further
away
from
shore
(10.6
m
±
7.3
SD
vs.
7.4
6.8
SD)
surrounded
deeper
water
(33.6
cm
10.6
28.1
11.5
than
unoccupied
islets.
As
expected,
all
three
bird
less
accessible
foxes,
increasing
distance
depth
around
Based
high-resolution
satellite
imagery
field
observations,
ice-wedge
polygon
degradation
generated
majority
(71
%)
Those
average
farther
those
other
processes.
projected
accelerate
response
warming,
new
will
likely
emerge
landscape,
but
current
also
disappear.
Changes
rate
may
thus
tundra
altering
predator–prey
Language: Английский