Líffræðifélag Íslands
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2015
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E69
Isabel C Barrio (1), C.G. Bueno (2), M. Gartzia (3), E.M. Soininen (4), K.S. Christie (5), J.D.M. Speed (6), V.T. Ravolainen (7), B. Forbes (8), G. Gauthier (9), T. Horskotte (10), K. Hoset (10), T.T. Høye (11), I.S. Jónsdóttir (1,12), E. Lévesque (13), M.A. Mörsdorf (1,4,12), L. Oksanen (10), J. Olofsson (14), P.A. Wookey (15) and D.S. Hik (5)
1 Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 2. Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, Department of Botany, University of Tartu, 3. Pyrenean Institute of Ecology CSIC, 4. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, 5. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, 6. NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7. Norwegian Polar Institute, 8. Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, 9. Département de Biologie and Centre d'études Nordiques, Université Laval, 10. Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 11. Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Arctic Research Centre, and Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 12. University Centre in Svalbard UNIS, 13. Département des Sciences de l’Environnement et Centre d'études Nordiques, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 14. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 15. Environment Department, School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University.
Kynnir / Presenter: Isabel C Barrio
Tengiliður / Corresponding author: Isabel C Barrio (icbarrio@gmail.com)
Vertebrate herbivores exert a strong trophic influence in terrestrial Arctic ecosystems and their diversity is expected to influence the outcomes of plant-herbivore interactions. Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain patterns of species diversity at the global scale, but drivers seem to be region- and guild-specific. Despite recent efforts to document biodiversity in the Arctic, no study has systematically evaluated the relative role of different drivers in shaping broad diversity patterns of herbivores. The aim of this study was to identify patterns of species richness of vertebrate herbivores and their drivers in the Arctic. We compiled available information on vertebrate (bird and mammal) herbivore distribution at a pan-Arctic scale, and used eight variables that represent the most relevant hypotheses to explain patterns of species richness. Overall, patterns of herbivore species richness in the Arctic were positively related to plant productivity (measured with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and secondarily to the species richness of predators. Species richness of herbivores was also, but to a lesser degree, affected by mean annual temperature and distance to the coast (bird richness peaking near the coast and mammal richness inland). 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 the distribution of herbivore diversity through impacts on primary productivity and changes in predator communities.