Hares and Small Rodent Cycles: a 45-year Perspective on Predator-prey Dynamics in the Yukon Boreal Forest

Boonstra, Rudy; Kenney, Alice J.; Gilbert, Benjamin

doi:10.7882/az.2018.012

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Deer mice (Peromyscus) now make up a small part of the biomass of the small rodents at Kluane, approximately 10%. Their population changes have been inexplicable for us (details in Krebs et al 2018b;see Fig. S2 in Supplementary Materials).…”

Section: Deer Micementioning

confidence: 99%

“…No deer mice were live trapped in the forest between 1990 and 1995 in spite of extensive trapping. These data are discussed in Krebs et al (2018b). Figure updated from Krebs et al (2018b) with permission.…”

Section: Supplemental Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These data are discussed in Krebs et al (2018b). Figure updated from Krebs et al (2018b) with permission. Krebs CJ, Boonstra R, Gilbert BS, Kenney AJ, Boutin S (2019).…”

Section: Supplemental Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of climate change on the small mammal community of the Yukon boreal forest

Boonstra

Gilbert

Kenney

et al. 2019

Integrative Zoology

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Long‐term monitoring is critical to determine the stability and sustainability of wildlife populations, and if change has occurred, why. We have followed population density changes in the small mammal community in the boreal forest of the southern Yukon for 46 years with density estimates by live trapping on 3–5 unmanipulated grids in spring and autumn. This community consists of 10 species and was responsible for 9% of the energy flow in the herbivore component of this ecosystem from 1986 to 1996, but this increased to 38% from 2003 to 2014. Small mammals, although small in size, are large in the transfer of energy from plants to predators and decomposers. Four species form the bulk of the biomass. There was a shift in the dominant species from the 1970s to the 2000s, with Myodes rutilus increasing in relative abundance by 22% and Peromyscus maniculatus decreasing by 22%. From 2007 to 2018, Myodes comprised 63% of the catch, Peromyscus 20%, and Microtus species 17%. Possible causes of these changes involve climate change, which is increasing primary production in this boreal forest, and an associated increase in the abundance of 3 rodent predators, marten (Martes americana), ermine (Mustela ermine) and coyotes (Canis latrans). Following and understanding these and potential future changes will require long‐term monitoring studies on a large scale to measure metapopulation dynamics. The small mammal community in northern Canada is being affected by climate change and cannot remain stable. Changes will be critically dependent on food–web interactions that are species‐specific.

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Section: Deer Micementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Supplemental Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of climate change on the small mammal community of the Yukon boreal forest

Boonstra

Gilbert

Kenney

et al. 2019

Integrative Zoology

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“…We used the sum of short‐tailed weasel, least weasel and marten tracks as an index of the total mustelid abundance for each year. The population densities of snowshoe hares Lepus americanus and red‐backed voles Myodes rutilis were estimated with live trapping and mark–recapture (Krebs, Boonstra, Kenney, & Gilbert, 2018), providing measures of alternate prey availability for these predators. We chose these combinations as lynx are known snowshoe hare specialists (O'Donoghue, Boutin, Krebs, Murray, & Hofer, 1998), while weasels (the majority of the mustelids) are known vole specialists (Boonstra & Krebs, 2006), and both populations follow the cycles of their preferred prey (Boutin et al, 1995).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Territory acquisition mediates the influence of predators and climate on juvenile red squirrel survival

Hendrix

Fisher

Martinig

et al. 2020

Journal of Animal Ecology

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1. Juvenile survival to first breeding is a key life-history stage for all taxa. Survival through this period can be particularly challenging when it coincides with harsh environmental conditions such as a winter climate or food scarcity, leading to highly variable cohort survival. However, the small size and dispersive nature of juveniles generally make studying their survival more difficult.2. In territorial species, a key life-history event is the acquisition of a territory. A territory is expected to enhance survival, but how it does so is not often identified. We tested how the timing of territory acquisition influenced the winter survival of juvenile North American red squirrels Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, hereafter red squirrels, and how the timing of this event mediated the sources of mortality.We hypothesized that securing a territory prior to when food resources become available would reduce juvenile susceptibility to predation and climatic factors overwinter.3. Using 27 years of data on the survival of individually marked juvenile red squirrels, we tested how the timing of territory acquisition influenced survival, whether the population density of red squirrel predators and mean temperature overwinter were related to individual survival probability, and if territory ownership mediated these effects. 4. Juvenile red squirrel survival was lower in the years of high predator abundance and in colder winters. Autumn territory owners were less susceptible to lynx Lynx canadensis and possibly mustelid Mustela and Martes spp., predation. Autumn territory owners had lower survival in colder winters, but surprisingly non-owners had higher survival in cold winters. 5. Our results show how the timing of a life-history event like territory acquisition can directly affect survival and also mediate the effects of biotic and abiotic factors later in life. This engenders a better understanding of the fitness consequences of the timing of key life-history events.

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“…Krebs and colleagues (Krebs et al 2018) are veterans of long-term studies, and their research has allowed them to draw some strong conclusions. They note that every scientific study raises more questions than it answers, and that this is the way of scientific progress.…”

Section: The Veteransmentioning

confidence: 99%

The critical value of long-term field studies and datasets: an editorial perspective

Lunney

Dickman

Predavec

2018

Australian Zoologist

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The 2016 annual forum of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW was entitled: "The critical value of long-term field studies and datasets". As Charley Krebs and co-authors comment in their paper, if there is one overall limitation on our ecological understanding, it is that our generalizations depend too much on short-term studies. All the authors in this theme edition of the Australian Zoologist identify the key reasons why long-term studies and datasets are important. David Lindenmayer states that long-term ecological research and monitoring studies are critical to tracking the state of the environment, assessing the effectiveness of management interventions, and informing policy and practices. White and Travers, in their 38-year study of the changes in frog communities in response to sand mining, conclude that the impact of mining does not disappear as a result of rehabilitation work, no matter how good it is. Brad Law takes another tack, noting long-term research on Australian bats as being glaring in its absence. He points out that long-term data are vital for understanding climate change impacts and other environmental changes resulting from management practices, such as timber harvesting or fire. Law concludes with the observation that improved technology has led to major advances in the study of bats, and firmly asserts that the degree of difficulty is no longer a reason to avoid studying bats. Plenary sessions were a feature of the forum. With the skilful facilitation of the plenary sessions by Paul Willis, many general and novel ideas emerged that were the result of listening intelligently to each of the individual accounts. Collectively, the authors and the participating audience demonstrated that there is critical value in long-term field studies and datasets. We highlight the key points and themes that emerged from the forum in this editorial perspective.

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Hares and Small Rodent Cycles: a 45-year Perspective on Predator-prey Dynamics in the Yukon Boreal Forest

Cited by 14 publications

References 27 publications

Impact of climate change on the small mammal community of the Yukon boreal forest

Impact of climate change on the small mammal community of the Yukon boreal forest

Territory acquisition mediates the influence of predators and climate on juvenile red squirrel survival

The critical value of long-term field studies and datasets: an editorial perspective

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