Differential responses of Arctic vegetation to nutrient enrichment by plankton and fish-eating colonial seabirds in Spitsbergen
- Author:
- Zwolicki A., Zmudczyńska-Skarbek K., Matuła J., Wojtuń B. & Stempniewicz L.
- Year:
- 2016
- Journal:
- Frontiers in Plant Science
- Pages:
- 7: 1959 [14 p.]
- Url:
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.01959
The role of seabirds as sea-land biovectors of nutrients is well documented. However,
no studies have examined whether and how colonial seabirds that differ in diet may
influence terrestrial vegetation. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to describe
and compare plant communities located in the vicinity of the two most common
types of seabird colonies in Arctic, occupied by piscivorous or planktivorous species.
Within 46 plots arranged in four transects in the vicinity of planktivorous (little auk, Alle
alle) and piscivorous colonies (mixed colony of Brunnich’s guillemot, Uria lomvia, and
black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla) we measured the following: guano deposition,
physical and chemical characteristics of soil, total nitrogen and its stable isotope
signatures in soil and plants, ground vegetation cover of vascular plants and mosses,
and the occurrence of lichens, algae and cyanobacteria. Using LINKTREE analysis, we
distinguished five plant communities, which reflected declining influence along a birds
fertilization gradient measured as guano deposition. SIMPROOF test revealed that these
communities differed significantly in species composition, with the differences related
to total soil nitrogen content and d15N, distinctive levels of phosphates, potassium
and nitrates, and physical soil properties, i.e., pH, conductivity and moisture. The
communities were also clearly distinguished by distance from the bird colony. The
two colony types promoted development of specific plant communities: the immediate
vicinity of the planktivorous colony characterized by a Deschampsia alpina–Cerastium
arcticum community while under the piscivorous colony a Cochlearia groenlandica–
Poa alpina community was present. Despite the similar size of the colonies and
similar magnitude of guano input, differences between ornithogenic communities were
connected mostly to phosphate content in the soil. Our results show that the guano
input from seabirds which have different diets can affect High Arctic vegetation in specific
and more complex ways than previously realized.
Keywords: guano deposition, bird cliff vegetation, plant communities, soil chemistry, little auk, kittiwake,
guillemot.
- Id:
- 33527
- Submitter:
- zdenek
- Post_time:
- Friday, 04 June 2021 14:38