Developing common protocols to measure tundra herbivory across spatial scales

I. C. Barrio; D. Ehrich; E. M. Soininen; V. T. Ravolainen; C. G. Bueno; O. Gilg; A. M. Koltz; J. D.M. Speed; D. S. Hik; M. Mörsdorf; J. M. Alatalo; A. Angerbjörn; J. Bêty; L. Bollache; N. Boulanger-Lapointe; G. S. Brown; I. Eischeid; M. A. Giroux; T. Hájek; B. B. Hansen; S. P. Hofhuis; J. F. Lamarre; J. Lang; C. Latty; N. Lecomte; P. Macek; L. McKinnon; I. H. Myers-Smith; Terje R. Pedersen; J. S. Prevéy; J. D. Roth; S. T. Saalfeld; N. M. Schmidt; P. Smith; A. Sokolov; N. Sokolova; C. Stolz; R. van Bemmelen; Øystein Varpe; P. F. Woodard; I. S. Jónsdóttir

doi:10.1139/as-2020-0020

Developing common protocols to measure tundra herbivory across spatial scales

I. C. Barrio, D. Ehrich, E. M. Soininen, V. T. Ravolainen, C. G. Bueno, O. Gilg, A. M. Koltz, J. D.M. Speed, D. S. Hik, M. Mörsdorf, J. M. Alatalo, A. Angerbjörn, J. Bêty, L. Bollache, N. Boulanger-Lapointe, G. S. Brown, I. Eischeid, M. A. Giroux, T. Hájek, B. B. HansenS. P. Hofhuis, J. F. Lamarre, J. Lang, C. Latty, N. Lecomte, P. Macek, L. McKinnon, I. H. Myers-Smith, Terje R. Pedersen, J. S. Prevéy, J. D. Roth, S. T. Saalfeld, N. M. Schmidt, P. Smith, A. Sokolov, N. Sokolova, C. Stolz, R. van Bemmelen, Øystein Varpe, P. F. Woodard, I. S. Jónsdóttir

University of Iceland

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Understanding and predicting large-scale ecological responses to global environmental change requires comparative studies across geographic scales with coordinated efforts and standardized methodologies. We designed, applied, and assessed standardized protocols to measure tundra herbivory at three spatial scales: plot, site (habitat), and study area (landscape). The plot-and site-level protocols were tested in the field during summers 2014–2015 at 11 sites, nine of them consisting of warming experimental plots included in the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). The study area protocols were assessed during 2014–2018 at 24 study areas across the Arctic. Our protocols provide comparable and easy to implement methods for assessing the intensity of invertebrate herbivory within ITEX plots and for characterizing vertebrate herbivore communities at larger spatial scales. We discuss methodological constraints and make recommendations for how these protocols can be used and how sampling effort can be optimized to obtain comparable estimates of herbivory, both at ITEX sites and at large landscape scales. The application of these protocols across the tundra biome will allow characterizing and comparing herbivore communities across tundra sites and at ecologically relevant spatial scales, providing an important step towards a better understanding of tundra ecosystem responses to large-scale environmental change.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	638-679
Number of pages	42
Journal	Arctic Science
Volume	8
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0020
Publication status	Published - 1 Sept 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information: Thanks for field assistance to U. Schmid and L. Leibold at Val Bercla; T.M. Mutia, L. Ársælsdóttir, and Á. Helgadóttir at Endalen; E. Liebig and Á. Helgadóttir at Auðkúluheiði; C. Flintrop, H. Thomas, A. Lowe (Team Shrub), and Territorial Park rangers on Qikiqtaruk — Herschel Island; B. Sabard and V. Gilg at Hochstetter; V. Olek, T. Brown, and L.L. Wright at Churchill; D. Meliopoulos, J. Cosgrove, K. Tsujita, W. Egelhoff, and T. Baerwald at Utqiaġvik; students of the Arctic Ecology course at Billefjorden; Lars H. Hansen at Zackenberg; and B. Sittler and S. Büchner at Karupelv. Funding for two Herbivory Network workshops was provided by the Terrestrial Working Group of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) to facilitate the participation of early career scientists. CGB was funded by the Estonian Research Council (grant IUT 20-28), and the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence EcolChange). JDMS was supported by the Research Council of Norway (262064). OG and LB were supported by the French Polar Institute (program “1036 Interactions”) and PRC CNRS Russie 396 (program “ICCVAT”). DSH, NL, MAG, JB, and JDR were supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada). NL, MAG, JB, and JDR were supported by the Polar Continental Shelf Program. NL was supported by the Canada Research Chair program and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. NL and JB were supported by Environment Canada and Polar Knowledge Canada. NL and MAG were supported by the Government of Nunavut, the Igloolik Community, and Université de Moncton. NL, MAG, and JB were supported by the Northern Scientific Training Program. JMA was funded by Carl Tryggers stiftelse för veten-skaplig forskning and Qatar Petroleum (QUEX-CAS-QP-RD-18_19). IHM-S was funded by the UK Natural Environmental Research Council Shrub Tundra (NE/M016323/1) grant. ISJ was funded by the University of Iceland Research Fund. Fieldwork in Yamal peninsula (Erkuta, Sabetta, and Belyi) for DE, NS and AS was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (No: 18-05-60261 and No: 18-54-15013), Fram Centre project YaES (No: 362259), the Russian Center of Development of the Arctic, and the “Yamal-LNG” company. Fieldwork in Utqiaġvik was supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fieldwork in Svalbard was supported by the Norwegian Research Council (AFG No: 246080/E10), the Norwegian Polar Institute, Climate-ecological Observatory for Arctic Tundra, the Svalbard Environmental protection fund (project number 15/20), and the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and the AB-338/AB-838 students of 2018. Sampling at Billefjorden was supported by GACR 17-20839S. We thank the Inuvialuit, Nenets, and Inuit people for the opportunity to conduct research on their land. The Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation and the North Slope Borough kindly permitted us to conduct this research on their lands in Utqiaġvik. We are grateful for logistical support received at Wapusk National Park. Herbivore silhouettes are available at PhyloPic. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Publisher Copyright: © Canadian Science Publishing.

Other keywords

Herbivory Network
Interactions Working Group (IWG)
International Tundra Experiment (ITEX)
ecological monitoring
standardized protocol

Access to Document

10.1139/as-2020-0020

Cite this

Barrio, I. C., Ehrich, D., Soininen, E. M., Ravolainen, V. T., Bueno, C. G., Gilg, O., Koltz, A. M., Speed, J. D. M., Hik, D. S., Mörsdorf, M., Alatalo, J. M., Angerbjörn, A., Bêty, J., Bollache, L., Boulanger-Lapointe, N., Brown, G. S., Eischeid, I., Giroux, M. A., Hájek, T., ... Jónsdóttir, I. S. (2022). Developing common protocols to measure tundra herbivory across spatial scales. Arctic Science, 8(3), 638-679. https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0020

@article{04b3869ad88849f5b668b2abf99551dc,

title = "Developing common protocols to measure tundra herbivory across spatial scales",

abstract = "Understanding and predicting large-scale ecological responses to global environmental change requires comparative studies across geographic scales with coordinated efforts and standardized methodologies. We designed, applied, and assessed standardized protocols to measure tundra herbivory at three spatial scales: plot, site (habitat), and study area (landscape). The plot-and site-level protocols were tested in the field during summers 2014–2015 at 11 sites, nine of them consisting of warming experimental plots included in the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). The study area protocols were assessed during 2014–2018 at 24 study areas across the Arctic. Our protocols provide comparable and easy to implement methods for assessing the intensity of invertebrate herbivory within ITEX plots and for characterizing vertebrate herbivore communities at larger spatial scales. We discuss methodological constraints and make recommendations for how these protocols can be used and how sampling effort can be optimized to obtain comparable estimates of herbivory, both at ITEX sites and at large landscape scales. The application of these protocols across the tundra biome will allow characterizing and comparing herbivore communities across tundra sites and at ecologically relevant spatial scales, providing an important step towards a better understanding of tundra ecosystem responses to large-scale environmental change.",

keywords = "Herbivory Network, Interactions Working Group (IWG), International Tundra Experiment (ITEX), ecological monitoring, standardized protocol",

author = "Barrio, \{I. C.\} and D. Ehrich and Soininen, \{E. M.\} and Ravolainen, \{V. T.\} and Bueno, \{C. G.\} and O. Gilg and Koltz, \{A. M.\} and Speed, \{J. D.M.\} and Hik, \{D. S.\} and M. M{\"o}rsdorf and Alatalo, \{J. M.\} and A. Angerbj{\"o}rn and J. B{\^e}ty and L. Bollache and N. Boulanger-Lapointe and Brown, \{G. S.\} and I. Eischeid and Giroux, \{M. A.\} and T. H{\'a}jek and Hansen, \{B. B.\} and Hofhuis, \{S. P.\} and Lamarre, \{J. F.\} and J. Lang and C. Latty and N. Lecomte and P. Macek and L. McKinnon and Myers-Smith, \{I. H.\} and Pedersen, \{Terje R.\} and Prev{\'e}y, \{J. S.\} and Roth, \{J. D.\} and Saalfeld, \{S. T.\} and Schmidt, \{N. M.\} and P. Smith and A. Sokolov and N. Sokolova and C. Stolz and \{van Bemmelen\}, R. and {\O}ystein Varpe and Woodard, \{P. F.\} and J{\'o}nsd{\'o}ttir, \{I. S.\}",

note = "Funding Information: Thanks for field assistance to U. Schmid and L. Leibold at Val Bercla; T.M. Mutia, L. {\'A}rs{\ae}lsd{\'o}ttir, and {\'A}. Helgad{\'o}ttir at Endalen; E. Liebig and {\'A}. Helgad{\'o}ttir at Au{\dh}k{\'u}luhei{\dh}i; C. Flintrop, H. Thomas, A. Lowe (Team Shrub), and Territorial Park rangers on Qikiqtaruk — Herschel Island; B. Sabard and V. Gilg at Hochstetter; V. Olek, T. Brown, and L.L. Wright at Churchill; D. Meliopoulos, J. Cosgrove, K. Tsujita, W. Egelhoff, and T. Baerwald at Utqiaġvik; students of the Arctic Ecology course at Billefjorden; Lars H. Hansen at Zackenberg; and B. Sittler and S. B{\"u}chner at Karupelv. Funding for two Herbivory Network workshops was provided by the Terrestrial Working Group of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) to facilitate the participation of early career scientists. CGB was funded by the Estonian Research Council (grant IUT 20-28), and the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence EcolChange). JDMS was supported by the Research Council of Norway (262064). OG and LB were supported by the French Polar Institute (program “1036 Interactions”) and PRC CNRS Russie 396 (program “ICCVAT”). DSH, NL, MAG, JB, and JDR were supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada). NL, MAG, JB, and JDR were supported by the Polar Continental Shelf Program. NL was supported by the Canada Research Chair program and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. NL and JB were supported by Environment Canada and Polar Knowledge Canada. NL and MAG were supported by the Government of Nunavut, the Igloolik Community, and Universit{\'e} de Moncton. NL, MAG, and JB were supported by the Northern Scientific Training Program. JMA was funded by Carl Tryggers stiftelse f{\"o}r veten-skaplig forskning and Qatar Petroleum (QUEX-CAS-QP-RD-18\_19). IHM-S was funded by the UK Natural Environmental Research Council Shrub Tundra (NE/M016323/1) grant. ISJ was funded by the University of Iceland Research Fund. Fieldwork in Yamal peninsula (Erkuta, Sabetta, and Belyi) for DE, NS and AS was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (No: 18-05-60261 and No: 18-54-15013), Fram Centre project YaES (No: 362259), the Russian Center of Development of the Arctic, and the “Yamal-LNG” company. Fieldwork in Utqiaġvik was supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fieldwork in Svalbard was supported by the Norwegian Research Council (AFG No: 246080/E10), the Norwegian Polar Institute, Climate-ecological Observatory for Arctic Tundra, the Svalbard Environmental protection fund (project number 15/20), and the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and the AB-338/AB-838 students of 2018. Sampling at Billefjorden was supported by GACR 17-20839S. We thank the Inuvialuit, Nenets, and Inuit people for the opportunity to conduct research on their land. The Ukpeaġvik I{\~n}upiat Corporation and the North Slope Borough kindly permitted us to conduct this research on their lands in Utqiaġvik. We are grateful for logistical support received at Wapusk National Park. Herbivore silhouettes are available at PhyloPic. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Canadian Science Publishing.",

year = "2022",

month = sep,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1139/as-2020-0020",

language = "English",

volume = "8",

pages = "638--679",

journal = "Arctic Science",

issn = "2368-7460",

publisher = "Canadian Science Publishing",

number = "3",

}

Barrio, IC, Ehrich, D, Soininen, EM, Ravolainen, VT, Bueno, CG, Gilg, O, Koltz, AM, Speed, JDM, Hik, DS, Mörsdorf, M, Alatalo, JM, Angerbjörn, A, Bêty, J, Bollache, L, Boulanger-Lapointe, N, Brown, GS, Eischeid, I, Giroux, MA, Hájek, T, Hansen, BB, Hofhuis, SP, Lamarre, JF, Lang, J, Latty, C, Lecomte, N, Macek, P, McKinnon, L, Myers-Smith, IH, Pedersen, TR, Prevéy, JS, Roth, JD, Saalfeld, ST, Schmidt, NM, Smith, P, Sokolov, A, Sokolova, N, Stolz, C, van Bemmelen, R, Varpe, Ø, Woodard, PF & Jónsdóttir, IS 2022, 'Developing common protocols to measure tundra herbivory across spatial scales', Arctic Science, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 638-679. https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0020

TY - JOUR

T1 - Developing common protocols to measure tundra herbivory across spatial scales

AU - Barrio, I. C.

AU - Ehrich, D.

AU - Soininen, E. M.

AU - Ravolainen, V. T.

AU - Bueno, C. G.

AU - Gilg, O.

AU - Koltz, A. M.

AU - Speed, J. D.M.

AU - Hik, D. S.

AU - Mörsdorf, M.

AU - Alatalo, J. M.

AU - Angerbjörn, A.

AU - Bêty, J.

AU - Bollache, L.

AU - Boulanger-Lapointe, N.

AU - Brown, G. S.

AU - Eischeid, I.

AU - Giroux, M. A.

AU - Hájek, T.

AU - Hansen, B. B.

AU - Hofhuis, S. P.

AU - Lamarre, J. F.

AU - Lang, J.

AU - Latty, C.

AU - Lecomte, N.

AU - Macek, P.

AU - McKinnon, L.

AU - Myers-Smith, I. H.

AU - Pedersen, Terje R.

AU - Prevéy, J. S.

AU - Roth, J. D.

AU - Saalfeld, S. T.

AU - Schmidt, N. M.

AU - Smith, P.

AU - Sokolov, A.

AU - Sokolova, N.

AU - Stolz, C.

AU - van Bemmelen, R.

AU - Varpe, Øystein

AU - Woodard, P. F.

AU - Jónsdóttir, I. S.

N1 - Funding Information: Thanks for field assistance to U. Schmid and L. Leibold at Val Bercla; T.M. Mutia, L. Ársælsdóttir, and Á. Helgadóttir at Endalen; E. Liebig and Á. Helgadóttir at Auðkúluheiði; C. Flintrop, H. Thomas, A. Lowe (Team Shrub), and Territorial Park rangers on Qikiqtaruk — Herschel Island; B. Sabard and V. Gilg at Hochstetter; V. Olek, T. Brown, and L.L. Wright at Churchill; D. Meliopoulos, J. Cosgrove, K. Tsujita, W. Egelhoff, and T. Baerwald at Utqiaġvik; students of the Arctic Ecology course at Billefjorden; Lars H. Hansen at Zackenberg; and B. Sittler and S. Büchner at Karupelv. Funding for two Herbivory Network workshops was provided by the Terrestrial Working Group of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) to facilitate the participation of early career scientists. CGB was funded by the Estonian Research Council (grant IUT 20-28), and the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence EcolChange). JDMS was supported by the Research Council of Norway (262064). OG and LB were supported by the French Polar Institute (program “1036 Interactions”) and PRC CNRS Russie 396 (program “ICCVAT”). DSH, NL, MAG, JB, and JDR were supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada). NL, MAG, JB, and JDR were supported by the Polar Continental Shelf Program. NL was supported by the Canada Research Chair program and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. NL and JB were supported by Environment Canada and Polar Knowledge Canada. NL and MAG were supported by the Government of Nunavut, the Igloolik Community, and Université de Moncton. NL, MAG, and JB were supported by the Northern Scientific Training Program. JMA was funded by Carl Tryggers stiftelse för veten-skaplig forskning and Qatar Petroleum (QUEX-CAS-QP-RD-18_19). IHM-S was funded by the UK Natural Environmental Research Council Shrub Tundra (NE/M016323/1) grant. ISJ was funded by the University of Iceland Research Fund. Fieldwork in Yamal peninsula (Erkuta, Sabetta, and Belyi) for DE, NS and AS was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (No: 18-05-60261 and No: 18-54-15013), Fram Centre project YaES (No: 362259), the Russian Center of Development of the Arctic, and the “Yamal-LNG” company. Fieldwork in Utqiaġvik was supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fieldwork in Svalbard was supported by the Norwegian Research Council (AFG No: 246080/E10), the Norwegian Polar Institute, Climate-ecological Observatory for Arctic Tundra, the Svalbard Environmental protection fund (project number 15/20), and the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and the AB-338/AB-838 students of 2018. Sampling at Billefjorden was supported by GACR 17-20839S. We thank the Inuvialuit, Nenets, and Inuit people for the opportunity to conduct research on their land. The Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation and the North Slope Borough kindly permitted us to conduct this research on their lands in Utqiaġvik. We are grateful for logistical support received at Wapusk National Park. Herbivore silhouettes are available at PhyloPic. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Publisher Copyright: © Canadian Science Publishing.

PY - 2022/9/1

Y1 - 2022/9/1

N2 - Understanding and predicting large-scale ecological responses to global environmental change requires comparative studies across geographic scales with coordinated efforts and standardized methodologies. We designed, applied, and assessed standardized protocols to measure tundra herbivory at three spatial scales: plot, site (habitat), and study area (landscape). The plot-and site-level protocols were tested in the field during summers 2014–2015 at 11 sites, nine of them consisting of warming experimental plots included in the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). The study area protocols were assessed during 2014–2018 at 24 study areas across the Arctic. Our protocols provide comparable and easy to implement methods for assessing the intensity of invertebrate herbivory within ITEX plots and for characterizing vertebrate herbivore communities at larger spatial scales. We discuss methodological constraints and make recommendations for how these protocols can be used and how sampling effort can be optimized to obtain comparable estimates of herbivory, both at ITEX sites and at large landscape scales. The application of these protocols across the tundra biome will allow characterizing and comparing herbivore communities across tundra sites and at ecologically relevant spatial scales, providing an important step towards a better understanding of tundra ecosystem responses to large-scale environmental change.

AB - Understanding and predicting large-scale ecological responses to global environmental change requires comparative studies across geographic scales with coordinated efforts and standardized methodologies. We designed, applied, and assessed standardized protocols to measure tundra herbivory at three spatial scales: plot, site (habitat), and study area (landscape). The plot-and site-level protocols were tested in the field during summers 2014–2015 at 11 sites, nine of them consisting of warming experimental plots included in the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). The study area protocols were assessed during 2014–2018 at 24 study areas across the Arctic. Our protocols provide comparable and easy to implement methods for assessing the intensity of invertebrate herbivory within ITEX plots and for characterizing vertebrate herbivore communities at larger spatial scales. We discuss methodological constraints and make recommendations for how these protocols can be used and how sampling effort can be optimized to obtain comparable estimates of herbivory, both at ITEX sites and at large landscape scales. The application of these protocols across the tundra biome will allow characterizing and comparing herbivore communities across tundra sites and at ecologically relevant spatial scales, providing an important step towards a better understanding of tundra ecosystem responses to large-scale environmental change.

KW - Herbivory Network

KW - Interactions Working Group (IWG)

KW - International Tundra Experiment (ITEX)

KW - ecological monitoring

KW - standardized protocol

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85117316995

U2 - 10.1139/as-2020-0020

DO - 10.1139/as-2020-0020

M3 - Article

SN - 2368-7460

VL - 8

SP - 638

EP - 679

JO - Arctic Science

JF - Arctic Science

IS - 3

ER -

Developing common protocols to measure tundra herbivory across spatial scales

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Other keywords

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