Geese as vectors of nitrogen and phosphorous to freshwater systems

Dessborn, Lisa; Hessel, Rebecca; Elmberg, Johan

doi:10.5268/iw-6.1.897

Cited by 37 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous studies that estimate nutrient contribution by waterbirds lack detailed behavioural information, and use fixed parameters to estimate the time spent at the roosting site without accounting for variation within or between winters (Dessborn et al., ; Hahn et al., , ) or correcting censuses for birds that were away from the roost site. When comparing nutrient loading estimations with and without use of movement data, we found an average increase of 47% when GPS data were used.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although our estimations are aided by precise information on gull movements, they also depend on other parameters that we did not directly measure. For example, our calculations assume a fixed defecation rate, while this may vary with diet (Dessborn et al., ). We used our own measures of the nutrient content of excreta, but our results were highly variable between samples.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, P‐rich guano from gulls and other waterbirds may contribute to microbial activity in the lake (Batanero et al., ). Moreover, P and uric acid (N) in excreta tend to accumulate in the sediment, partly delaying eutrophication effects until those nutrients are released again due to disturbance or changes in water conditions (Dessborn et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Quantifying nutrient inputs by gulls to a fluctuating lake, aided by movement ecology methods

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems is a global problem with major ecological and economic impacts. In many lakes and reservoirs, guanotrophication occurs when roosting waterbirds import nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from surrounding terrestrial habitats. To date, nutrient loading by waterbirds has been estimated based on censuses in the absence of detailed information on their movements. We quantified nutrient importation by the lesser black‐backed gull (Larus fuscus) to Fuente de Piedra (1,350 ha) in Andalusia (south‐west Spain), where an average of 36,288 individuals are counted in January. During seven winters from 2010 to 2017, we used movement data from 20 individual gulls tagged with Global Positioning System trackers that foraged in four landfills. Together with monthly bird counts and measurements of total N and P content in faeces and pellet samples, movement data were used to quantify the total external loading effect for different winters. Movement data allowed us to quantify the proportion of time spent in the lake and the time spent at different foraging sites and enabled correction of censuses. According to tracking data, on average 69% of the birds had already left the lake to head for feeding sites when waterbird counts were carried out. Nutrient inputs to the lake depend partly on the proportion of the day that gulls spend there, which was higher in late winters and was reduced when lake depth went below or above 20–35 cm. An estimated average of 10.17 kg N ha−1 year−1 and 2.07 kg P ha−1 year−1 were imported to this closed‐basin lake by gulls each winter, with highest values recorded in winter 2016–2017. Gull guano is the most important winter source of nutrients to the lake. Regurgitated pellets have been ignored as a source of nutrients in other guanotrophy studies, but we found them to be a more important source of P than faeces. A movement ecology approach complements traditional censuses and facilitates the study of guanotrophication in multiple ways, including identification of sources of nutrients, correction of censuses, and measuring time spent at roost sites.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Quantifying nutrient inputs by gulls to a fluctuating lake, aided by movement ecology methods

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Because waterfowl aggregate in large groups in wetlands, nutrient load derived from guano may contribute up to 30–60 % of nutrient loading rates in certain wetland areas (Post 2008). These bird-borne nutrients may cause eutrophication of wetlands (Dessborn et al 2016), potentially resulting in changes in physicochemical properties and community composition. At high latitudes with low terrestrial productivity, seabirds are often instrumental for providing nutrient inputs to terrestrial productivity (Odasz 1994; Anderson and Polis 1999; Hop et al 2006).…”

Section: The Svalbard Casementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ripple et al 2001). Also birds may constitute important links between distant ecosystems (Webster et al 2001; Jefferies et al 2004a, b), especially in the context of nutrient loads (van Geest et al 2007; Hahn et al 2008; Dessborn et al 2016). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global change and ecosystem connectivity: How geese link fields of central Europe to eutrophication of Arctic freshwaters

Hessen

Tombre

Geest

et al. 2016

Ambio

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Migratory connectivity by birds may mutually affect different ecosystems over large distances. Populations of geese overwintering in southern areas while breeding in high-latitude ecosystems have increased strongly over the past decades. The increase is likely due to positive feedbacks caused by climate change at both wintering, stopover sites and breeding grounds, land-use practices at the overwintering grounds and protection from hunting. Here we show how increasing goose populations in temperate regions, and increased breeding success in the Arctic, entail a positive feedback with strong impacts on Arctic freshwater ecosystems in the form of eutrophication. This may again strongly affect community composition and productivity of the ponds, due to increased nutrient loadings or birds serving as vectors for new species.

show abstract

Lake nutrient stoichiometry is less predictable than nutrient concentrations at regional and sub‐continental scales

Collins

Oliver

Lapierre

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Production in many ecosystems is co-limited by multiple elements. While a known suite of drivers associated with nutrient sources, nutrient transport, and internal processing controls concentrations of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in lakes, much less is known about whether the drivers of single nutrient concentrations can also explain spatial or temporal variation in lake N:P stoichiometry. Predicting stoichiometry might be more complex than predicting concentrations of individual elements because some drivers have similar relationships with N and P, leading to a weak relationship with their ratio. Further, the dominant controls on elemental concentrations likely vary across regions, resulting in context dependent relationships between drivers, lake nutrients and their ratios. Here, we examine whether known drivers of N and P concentrations can explain variation in N:P stoichiometry, and whether explaining variation in stoichiometry differs across regions. We examined drivers of N:P in ~2,700 lakes at a sub-continental scale and two large regions nested within the sub-continental study area that have contrasting ecological context, including differences in the dominant type of land cover (agriculture vs. forest). At the sub-continental scale, lake nutrient concentrations were correlated with nutrient loading and lake internal processing, but stoichiometry was only weakly correlated to drivers of lake nutrients. At the regional scale, drivers that explained variation in nutrients and stoichiometry differed between regions. In the Midwestern U.S. region, dominated by agricultural land use, lake depth and the percentage of row crop agriculture were strong predictors of stoichiometry because only phosphorus was related to lake depth and only nitrogen was related to the percentage of row crop agriculture. In contrast, all drivers were related to N and P in similar ways in the Northeastern U.S. region, leading to weak relationships between drivers and stoichiometry. Our results suggest ecological context mediates controls on lake nutrients and stoichiometry. Predicting stoichiometry was generally more difficult than predicting nutrient concentrations, but human activity may decouple N and P, leading to better prediction of N:P stoichiometry in regions with high anthropogenic activity.

show abstract

Geese as vectors of nitrogen and phosphorous to freshwater systems

Cited by 37 publications

References 43 publications

Quantifying nutrient inputs by gulls to a fluctuating lake, aided by movement ecology methods

Quantifying nutrient inputs by gulls to a fluctuating lake, aided by movement ecology methods

Global change and ecosystem connectivity: How geese link fields of central Europe to eutrophication of Arctic freshwaters

Lake nutrient stoichiometry is less predictable than nutrient concentrations at regional and sub‐continental scales

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About