Europe-Wide Dampening of Population Cycles in Keystone Herbivores

Cornulier, Thomas; Yoccoz, Nigel G.; Bretagnolle, Vincent; Brommer, Jon E.; Butet, Alain; Ecke, Frauke; Elston, David A.; Framstad, Erik; Henttonen, Heikki; Hörnfeldt, Birger; Huitu, Otso; Imholt, Christian; Ims, Rolf A.; Jacob, Jens; Jędrzejewska, Bogumiła; Millon, Alexandre; Petty, S. J.; Pietiäinen, Hannu; Tkadlec, Emil; Zub, Karol; Lambin, Xavier

doi:10.1126/science.1228992

Cited by 225 publications

(248 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…In boreal Europe, vole populations are mostly cyclic [8][9][10][11]. Almost a century ago, Charles Elton proposed that infectious disease outbreaks ended periodic overpopulation of cyclic rodent species [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food provisioning alters infection dynamics in populations of a wild rodent

et al. 2015

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While pathogens are often assumed to limit the growth of wildlife populations, experimental evidence for their effects is rare. A lack of food resources has been suggested to enhance the negative effects of pathogen infection on host populations, but this theory has received little investigation. We conducted a replicated two-factor enclosure experiment, with introduction of the bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica and food supplementation, to evaluate the individual and interactive effects of pathogen infection and food availability on vole populations during a boreal winter. We show that prior to bacteria introduction, vole populations were limited by food availability. Bordetella bronchiseptica introduction then reduced population growth and abundance, but contrary to predictions, primarily in food supplemented populations. Infection prevalence and pathological changes in vole lungs were most common in food supplemented populations, and are likely to have resulted from increased congregation and bacteria transmission around feeding stations. Bordetella bronchisepticainfected lungs often showed protozoan co-infection (consistent with Hepatozoon erhardovae), together with more severe inflammatory changes. Using a multidisciplinary approach, this study demonstrates a complex picture of interactions and underlying mechanisms, leading to population-level effects. Our results highlight the potential for food provisioning to markedly influence disease processes in wildlife mammal populations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food provisioning alters infection dynamics in populations of a wild rodent

et al. 2015

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“…1). Volunteer dog handlers with pointing dogs walked along predetermined transect lines and the free-running dogs searched the area on both sides of the line following the procedure of distance sampling (Buckland et al 2001;Pedersen et al 1999Pedersen et al , 2004Warren and Baines 2011). At each encounter, the number of birds (chicks, adult males, adult females and birds of unknown age/sex) and perpendicular distance from the transect line to the observed birds (m) were recorded.…”

Section: Data Collection and Study Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-scale climate variability and rodent abundance modulates recruitment rates in Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus)

Kvasnes¹,

Pedersen

Storaas³

et al. 2014

J Ornithol

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Recruitment of juveniles is important for the size of the next year's breeding population in many bird species. Climate variability and predation may affect recruitment rates, and when these factors are spatially correlated, recruitment rates in spatially separated populations of a species may be synchronized. We used production data from an extensive survey of Willow Ptarmigan from 2000 to 2011 to investigate spatial synchrony in recruitment of juveniles within and among mountain region populations. In addition, we assessed the effects of predation and large-as well as local-scale climate on recruitment of juveniles. Recruitment was synchronized both within and among mountain regions, but the mean spatial correlation was strongest among mountain regions. This may be caused by small-scale factors such as predation or habitat structure, or be a result of sampling variation, which may be large at small spatial scales. The strong synchrony suggests that populations are subject to similar environmental forces. We used mixed effect models at the survey area and mountain region scales to assess the effect of rodent abundance (a proxy for predation rates) and local and regional climate during the breeding season on the recruitment of juvenile birds. Model selection based on AICc revealed that the most parsimonious models at both spatial scales included positive effects of rodent abundance and the North Atlantic oscillation during May, June and July (NAO MJJ ). The NAO MJJ index was positively related to temperature and precipitation during the pre-incubation period; temperature during the incubation period and positive NAO MJJ values accelerate plant growth. A comparison of the relative effects of NAO MJJ and rodent abundance showed that variation in NAO MJJ had greatest impact on the recruitment of juveniles. This suggests that the climate effect was stronger than the effect of rodent abundance in our study populations. This is in contrast to previous studies on Willow Ptarmigan, but may be explained by the collapse in rodent cycles since the 1990s. If Willow Ptarmigan dynamics in the past were linked to the rodent cycle through a shared predator regime, this link may have been weakened when rodent cycles became more irregular, resulting in a more pronounced effect of environmental perturbation on the dynamics of ptarmigan.

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“…During the last decades, long‐term decline and depression of density in cyclic voles has become a widespread phenomenon (Cornulier et al., 2013; Hörnfeldt, 2004; Ims, Henden, & Killengreen, 2008). The causes of these declines are largely unknown, but probably involve multiple elements including climatic factors (Cornulier et al., 2013; Kausrud et al., 2008; Korpela et al., 2013, 2014) and, at least in Sweden, landscape changes (Magnusson, Hörnfeldt, & Ecke, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dampening of population cycles in voles affects small mammal community structure, decreases diversity, and increases prevalence of a zoonotic disease

Ecke

Angeler

Магнуссон

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Long‐term decline and depression of density in cyclic small rodents is a recent widespread phenomenon. These observed changes at the population level might have cascading effects at the ecosystem level. Here, we assessed relationships between changing boreal landscapes and biodiversity changes of small mammal communities. We also inferred potential effects of observed community changes for increased transmission risk of Puumala virus (PUUV) spread, causing the zoonotic disease nephropatica epidemica in humans. Analyses were based on long‐term (1971–2013) monitoring data of shrews and voles representing 58 time series in northern Sweden. We calculated richness, diversity, and evenness at alpha, beta, and gamma level, partitioned beta diversity into turnover (species replacement) and nestedness (species addition/removal), used similarity percentages (SIMPER) analysis to assess community structure, and calculated the cumulated number of PUUV‐infected bank voles and average PUUV prevalence (percentage of infected bank voles) per vole cycle. Alpha, beta, and gamma richness and diversity of voles, but not shrews, showed long‐term trends that varied spatially. The observed patterns were associated with an increase in community contribution of bank vole (Myodes glareolus), a decrease of gray‐sided vole (M. rufocanus) and field vole (Microtus agrestis) and a hump‐shaped variation in contribution of common shrew (Sorex araneus). Long‐term biodiversity changes were largely related to changes in forest landscape structure. Number of PUUV‐infected bank voles in spring was negatively related to beta and gamma diversity, and positively related to turnover of shrews (replaced by voles) and to community contribution of bank voles. The latter was also positively related to average PUUV prevalence in spring. We showed that long‐term changes in the boreal landscape contributed to explain the decrease in biodiversity and the change in structure of small mammal communities. In addition, our results suggest decrease in small mammal diversity to have knock‐on effects on dynamics of infectious diseases among small mammals with potential implications for disease transmission to humans.

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Europe-Wide Dampening of Population Cycles in Keystone Herbivores

Cited by 225 publications

References 45 publications

Food provisioning alters infection dynamics in populations of a wild rodent

Food provisioning alters infection dynamics in populations of a wild rodent

Large-scale climate variability and rodent abundance modulates recruitment rates in Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus)

Dampening of population cycles in voles affects small mammal community structure, decreases diversity, and increases prevalence of a zoonotic disease

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