Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/25818
Appears in Collections:Biological and Environmental Sciences Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: Biotic interactions mediate patterns of herbivore diversity in the Arctic
Author(s): Barrio, Isabel C
Bueno, C Guillermo
Gartzia, Maite
Soininen, Eeva M
Christie, Katherine S
Speed, James D M
Ravolainen, Virve T
Forbes, Bruce C
Gauthier, Gilles
Horstkotte, Tim
Hoset, Katrine S
Hoye, Toke T
Jonsdottir, Ingibjorg S
Levesque, Esther
Morsdorf, Martin A
Olofsson, Johan
Wookey, Philip
Hik, David S
Contact Email: philip.wookey1@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: Biodiversity
biotic interactions
predator–prey
species richness
trophic interactions
tundra
Issue Date: Sep-2016
Date Deposited: 1-Sep-2017
Citation: Barrio IC, Bueno CG, Gartzia M, Soininen EM, Christie KS, Speed JDM, Ravolainen VT, Forbes BC, Gauthier G, Horstkotte T, Hoset KS, Hoye TT, Jonsdottir IS, Levesque E, Morsdorf MA, Olofsson J, Wookey P & Hik DS (2016) Biotic interactions mediate patterns of herbivore diversity in the Arctic. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 25 (9), pp. 1108-1118. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12470
Abstract: Aim: Understanding the forces shaping biodiversity patterns, particularly for groups of organisms with key functional roles, will help predict the responses of ecosystems to environmental changes. Our aim was to evaluate the relative role of different drivers in shaping the diversity patterns of vertebrate herbivores, a group of organisms exerting a strong trophic influence in terrestrial Arctic ecosystems. This biome, traditionally perceived as homogeneous and low in biodiversity, includes wide variation in biotic and physical conditions and is currently undergoing major environmental change.  Location: The Arctic (including the High Arctic, Low Arctic and Subarctic).  Methods: We compiled available data on vertebrate (birds and mammals) herbivore distribution at a pan-Arctic scale, and used eight variables that represent the most relevant hypotheses for explaining patterns of species richness. We used range maps rasterized on a 100 km × 100 km equal-area grid to analyse richness patterns of all vertebrate herbivore species combined, and birds and mammalian herbivores separately.  Results: Overall, patterns of herbivore species richness in the Arctic were positively related to plant productivity (measured using the normalized difference vegetation index) and to the species richness of predators. Greater species richness of herbivores was also linked to areas with a higher mean annual temperature. Species richness of avian and mammalian herbivores were related to the distance from the coast, with the highest avian richness in coastal areas and mammalian richness peaking further inland.  Main conclusions: Herbivore richness in the Arctic is most strongly linked to primary productivity and the species richness of predators. Our results suggest that biotic interactions, with either higher or lower trophic levels or both, can drive patterns of species richness at a biome-wide scale. Rapid ongoing environmental changes in the Arctic are likely to affect herbivore diversity through impacts on both primary productivity and changes in predator communities via range expansion of predators from lower latitudes.
DOI Link: 10.1111/geb.12470
Rights: The publisher does not allow this work to be made publicly available in this Repository. Please use the Request a Copy feature at the foot of the Repository record to request a copy directly from the author. You can only request a copy if you wish to use this work for your own research or private study.
Licence URL(s): http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/under-embargo-all-rights-reserved

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
Barrio_et_al-2016-Global_Ecology_and_Biogeography.pdfFulltext - Published Version489.08 kBAdobe PDFUnder Embargo until 2999-12-20    Request a copy

Note: If any of the files in this item are currently embargoed, you can request a copy directly from the author by clicking the padlock icon above. However, this facility is dependent on the depositor still being contactable at their original email address.



This item is protected by original copyright



Items in the Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

The metadata of the records in the Repository are available under the CC0 public domain dedication: No Rights Reserved https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

If you believe that any material held in STORRE infringes copyright, please contact library@stir.ac.uk providing details and we will remove the Work from public display in STORRE and investigate your claim.