Perennial ice and snow‐covered land as important ecosystems for birds and mammals

Rosvold, Jørgen

doi:10.1111/jbi.12609

Cited by 47 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…, , Rosvold ). In some extreme cases, birds may even choose to nest directly in glaciers (White‐winged Diuca Finch Diuca speculifera; Hardy & Hardy ) or in very close proximity (Grey‐crowned Rosy Finch Leucosticte tephrocotis , Johnson , Rosvold , Brandt's Rosefinch Leucosticte brandti , Potatov ) to capitalize on abundant supplies of insects. Changes in amount and duration of snow may therefore affect these species via food resources.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review and meta‐analysis of the effects of climate change on Holarctic mountain and upland bird populations

Scridel

Brambilla

Martin

et al. 2018

Ibis

125

145

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Mountain regions are globally important areas for biodiversity but are subject to multiple human-induced threats, including climate change, which has been more severe at higher elevations. We reviewed evidence for impacts of climate change on Holarctic mountain bird populations in terms of physiology, phenology, trophic interactions, demography and observed and projected distribution shifts, including effects of other factors that interact with climate change. We developed an objective classification of high-elevation, mountain specialist and generalist species, based on the proportion of their breeding range occurring in mountain regions. Our review found evidence of responses of mountain bird populations to climate (extreme weather events, temperature, rainfall and snow) and environmental (i.e. land use) change, but we know little about either the underlying mechanisms or the synergistic effects of climate and land use. Long-term studies assessing reproductive success or survival of mountain birds in relation to climate change were rare. Few studies have considered shifts in elevational distribution over time and a meta-analysis did not find a consistent direction in elevation change. A meta-analysis carried out on future projections of distribution shifts suggested that birds whose breeding distributions are largely restricted to mountains are likely to be more negatively impacted than other species. Adaptation responses to climate change rely mostly on managing and extending current protected areas for both

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review and meta‐analysis of the effects of climate change on Holarctic mountain and upland bird populations

Scridel

Brambilla

Martin

et al. 2018

Ibis

125

145

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“…There are an array of stakeholders and scientists, including hydrologists, geologists, biologists, and archaeologists, who need to understand the behavior of perennial snowfields and how they are changing because of climate warming [1]. Wildlife biologists are investigating how perennial snowfields provide important habit to all sorts of different species [16]. Perennial snowfields provide a source of water for downslope vegetation, including lichen in the Brooks Range [13], which is primary forage for caribou [24][25][26].…”

Section: Mapped and Quantified Perennial Snowfield Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Perennial snowfields are an important component of the Arctic cryosphere because they influence hydrology, downslope vegetation [13], bedrock weathering through freeze-thaw cycles [14], soil temperatures, and permafrost distribution [15]. They are also important ecosystems for an array of birds and mammal species [16]. Reductions in the extent of both glaciers and snowfields during the late twentieth century [17] have been observed across the Arctic, including in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (GAAR) in the central Brooks Range of Alaska [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extent Changes in the Perennial Snowfields of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska

et al. 2019

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Perennial snowfields in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (GAAR) in the central Brooks Range of Alaska are a critical component of the cryosphere. They serve as habitat for an array of wildlife, including caribou, a species that is crucial as a food and cultural resource for rural subsistence hunters and Native Alaskans. Snowfields also influence hydrology, vegetation, permafrost, and have the potential to preserve valuable archaeological artifacts. By deriving time series maps using cloud computing and supervised classification of Landsat satellite imagery, we calculated areas and evaluated extent changes. We also derived changes in elevations of the perennial snowfields that remained stable for at least four years. For the study period of 1985 to 2017, we found that total areas of perennial snowfields in GAAR are decreasing, with most of the notable changes in the latter half of the study period. Equilibrium areas, or bright areas, of the snowfields are shrinking, while ablation, or dark areas, are growing. We also found that the snowfields occur at higher elevations over time. Climate change may be altering the distribution, elevation, and extent of perennial snowfields in GAAR, which could affect caribou populations and subsistence lifestyles in rural Alaska.

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“…Nevertheless, the cryosphere supports diverse biological communities on the surface of glaciers and continental ice sheets Hotaling et al, 2017a), beneath them (Hamilton et al, 2013), in their meltwater (Hotaling et al, 2019a), in permafrost (Jansson and Tas, 2014), and in sea ice (Boetius et al, 2015). Even though these biotic communities are dominated by unicellular microbial life (e.g., bacteria and algae: Boetius et al, 2015;Anesio et al, 2017;Hotaling et al, 2017a), macroinvertebrates (e.g., ice worms and rotifers; Shain et al, 2016;Hotaling et al, 2019b) and vertebrates (e.g., gray-crowned rosy finches; Rosvold, 2016) are also represented. However, rising global temperatures are driving widespread recession of the cryosphere (Lyon et al, 2009;Notz and Stroeve, 2016;Roe et al, 2017) with profound implications for biodiversity (Hotaling et al, 2017b), human populations (Pritchard, 2017), and ecological feedbacks (e.g., trophic interactions and biogeochemical cycles, Sommaruga, 2015;Milner et al, 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

Ecological Stoichiometry of the Mountain Cryosphere

et al. 2019

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Roughly 10% of the Earth's surface is permanently covered by glaciers and ice sheets and in mountain ecosystems, this proportion of ice cover is often even higher. From an ecological perspective, ice-dominated ecosystems place harsh controls on life including cold temperature, limited nutrient availability, and often prolonged darkness due to snow cover for much of the year. Despite these limitations, glaciers, and perennial snowfields support diverse, primarily microbial communities, though macroinvertebrates and vertebrates are also present. The availability and mass balance of key elements [(carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P)] are known to influence the population dynamics of organisms, and ultimately shape the structure and function of ecosystems worldwide. While considerable attention has been devoted to patterns of biodiversity in mountain cryosphere-influenced ecosystems, the ecological stoichiometry of these habitats has received much less attention. Understanding this emerging research arena is particularly pressing in light of the rapid recession of glaciers and perennial snowfields worldwide. In this review, we synthesize existing knowledge of ecological stoichiometry, nutrient availability, and food webs in the mountain cryosphere (specifically glaciers and perennial snowfields). We use this synthesis to develop more general understanding of nutrient origins, distributions, and trophic interactions in these imperiled ecosystems. We focus our efforts on three major habitats: glacier surfaces (supraglacial), the area beneath glaciers (subglacial), and adjacent downstream habitats (i.e., glacierfed streams and lakes). We compare nutrient availability in these habitats to comparable habitats on continental ice sheets (e.g., Greenland and Antarctica) and show that, in general, nutrient levels are substantially different between the two. We also discuss how ongoing climate warming will alter nutrient and trophic dynamics in mountain glacier-influenced ecosystems. We conclude by highlighting the pressing need for studies to understand spatial and temporal stoichiometric variation in the mountain cryosphere, ideally with direct comparisons to continental ice sheets, before these imperiled habitats vanish completely.

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Perennial ice and snow‐covered land as important ecosystems for birds and mammals

Cited by 47 publications

References 81 publications

A review and meta‐analysis of the effects of climate change on Holarctic mountain and upland bird populations

A review and meta‐analysis of the effects of climate change on Holarctic mountain and upland bird populations

Extent Changes in the Perennial Snowfields of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Ecological Stoichiometry of the Mountain Cryosphere

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