Categorizing the influences of two large seabird colonies on island freshwater ecosystems in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Duda, Matthew P.; Michelutti, Neal; Wang, Xiaowa; Smol, John P.

doi:10.1007/s10750-020-04498-2

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It has been shown that nutrient fluxes carried by waterbirds across habitat boundaries can substantially increase nutrient concentrations and affect the dynamics of the receiving ecosystems (Anderson & Polis, 1999 ). The effects of seabirds as vectors profoundly influencing chemistry and biota of recipient island aquatic ecosystems have also been highlighted (Duda et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studying biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships in experimental microcosms among islands

Teittinen

Soininen

Virta

2022

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ecological studies on islands have provided fundamental insights into the mechanisms underlying biodiversity of larger organisms, but we know little about the factors affecting island microbial biodiversity and ecosystem function. We conducted a field experiment on five Baltic Sea islands where we placed aquatic microcosms with different levels of salinity mimicking environmental stress and allowed diatoms to colonize the microcosms via the air. Using structural equation models (SEM), we investigated the interconnections among environmental and dispersal-related factors, diatom biodiversity, and ecosystem productivity (represented by chlorophyll a concentration). We also tested whether the body size structure of the community influences productivity together with biodiversity. In SEMs, we found no relationship between species richness or evenness and productivity. However, productivity increased with increasing mean body size of species in the communities. The effects of environmental stress on both biodiversity and ecosystem productivity were highlighted as species richness and evenness declined, whereas productivity increased at the highest salinity levels. In addition to salinity, wind exposure affected both biodiversity metrics and productivity. This study provides new insights into microbial community assembly in a field experimental setting

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studying biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships in experimental microcosms among islands

Teittinen

Soininen

Virta

2022

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We focused on two storm‐petrel‐influenced ponds on the island and one reference core ~4 km west of Baccalieu on mainland Newfoundland, where no storm‐petrels breed. We selected Lunin Pond (abbreviated to LNP), Brister Pond (BTP), and Mainland Reference Pond (MRP) because they have established levels of storm‐petrel inputs based on earlier limnological (Duda et al, 2021b) and paleolimnological work (Duda et al, 2020c). Detailed descriptions of the physical characteristics of the sites are provided in the supplementary text.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reference Pond (MRP) because they have established levels of storm-petrel inputs based on earlier limnological (Duda et al, 2021b) and paleolimnological work (Duda et al, 2020c). and adjacent to prime nesting areas of Leach's storm-petrels, ensuring that we were tracking island-wide trends in the seabird colony size, as opposed to colony shifts around the island (Figure 1a).…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seabird population changes can be tracked using dated lake sediments because colonies deposit high concentrations of nutrient‐rich guano, eggshells, feathers, and carcasses onto the landscape. As the colony size increases, the amount of ornithogenic inputs to the lakes also increases, resulting in changes to the limnology within the lake (Duda et al, 2021b) and the surrounding terrestrial ecosystem (Duda et al, 2020b) that then preserve in the sediments. These records can be accessed by retrieving sediment cores, which can be subsequently analyzed for a variety of seabird‐related proxies (Duda et al, 2021a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Climate oscillations drive millennial‐scale changes in seabird colony size

Duda

Cyr

Robertson

et al. 2022

Global Change Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seabird population size is intimately linked to the physical, chemical, and biological processes of the oceans. Yet, the overall effects of long‐term changes in ocean dynamics on seabird colonies are difficult to quantify. Here, we used dated lake sediments to reconstruct ~10,000‐years of seabird dynamics in the Northwest Atlantic to determine the influences of Holocene‐scale climatic oscillations on colony size. On Baccalieu Island (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada)—where the world's largest colony of Leach's storm‐petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous Vieillot 1818) currently breeds—our data track seabird colony growth in response to warming during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (ca. 9000 to 6000 BP). From ca. 5200 BP to the onset of the Little Ice Age (ca. 550 BP), changes in colony size were correlated to variations in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). By contrasting the seabird trends from Baccalieu Island to millennial‐scale changes of storm‐petrel populations from Grand Colombier Island (an island in the Northwest Atlantic that is subjected a to different ocean climate), we infer that changes in NAO influenced the ocean circulation, which translated into, among many things, changes in pycnocline depth across the Northwest Atlantic basin where the storm‐petrels feed. We hypothesize that the depth of the pycnocline is likely a strong bottom‐up control on surface‐feeding storm‐petrels through its influence on prey accessibility. Since the Little Ice Age (LIA), the effects of ocean dynamics on seabird colony size have been altered by anthropogenic impacts. Subsequently, the colony on Baccalieu Island grew at an unprecedented rate to become the world's largest resulting from favorable conditions linked to climate warming, increased vegetation (thereby nesting habitat), and attraction of recruits from other colonies that are now in decline. We show that although ocean dynamics were an important driver of seabird colony dynamics, its recent influence has been modified by human interference.

show abstract

“…Seabirds, in particular, are potent biovectors that introduce significant nutrient subsidies to the environment, structuring both terrestrial (Duda, Glew, et al., 2020; Mallory et al., 2015; Zwolicki et al., 2013) and aquatic ecosystems (Blais et al., 2005; Duda et al., 2018; Duda, Michelutti, et al., 2021; Keatley et al., 2009). The waste products from large seabird colonies (e.g., feces, molted feathers and eggshells) enrich nearby freshwater ecosystems with nutrients and leave distinct biogeochemical signatures in the sediments (Duda, Hargan, et al., 2021; Michelutti, Blais, Mallory, et al., 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing long‐term diatom changes in sub‐Arctic ponds receiving high fluxes of seabird nutrients

Hargan,

Duda,

Michelutti

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Algal bioindicators, such as diatoms, often show subdued responses to eutrophication in Arctic lakes because climate‐related changes (e.g., ice cover) tend to be the overriding factors influencing assemblage composition. Here, we examined how sub‐Arctic ponds historically receiving high nutrient inputs from nesting seabirds have responded to recent climate change. We present diatom data obtained from 12 sediment cores in seaduck‐affected ponds located on islands through Hudson Strait, Canada. All study cores show consistently elevated values of sedimentary ẟ15N, an established proxy for tracking marine‐derived nutrients, indicating seabirds have been present on these islands for at least the duration of the sediment records (~100 to 400 years). We document diverse epiphytic diatom assemblages to the base of all sediment cores, which is in marked contrast to seabird‐free Arctic ponds—these oligotrophic sites typically record epilithic diatom flora prior to recent warming. Diatoms are likely responding indirectly to seabird nutrients via habitat as nutrients promote the growth of mosses supporting epiphytic diatom communities. This masks the typical diatom response to increased warming in the Arctic, which also results in habitat changes and the growth of mosses around the pond edges. Changes in sedimentary chlorophyll a were not consistently synchronous with large changes in ẟ15N values, suggesting that primary production in ponds is not responding linearly to changes in seabird‐derived nitrogen. Across all ponds, we recorded shifts in diatom epiphytic assemblages (e.g., increases in % relative abundance of many Nitzschia species) that often align with increases in chlorophyll a. The changes in diatoms and chlorophyll a, although variable, are most likely driven by climate change as they are generally consistent with longer ice‐free conditions and growing seasons. Together, our results show that to effectively use diatoms in animal population reconstructions across the sub‐Arctic and Arctic, a strong understanding of eutrophication and climate change, based on supplementary proxies, is also required.

show abstract

Categorizing the influences of two large seabird colonies on island freshwater ecosystems in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Cited by 10 publications

References 47 publications

Studying biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships in experimental microcosms among islands

Studying biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships in experimental microcosms among islands

Climate oscillations drive millennial‐scale changes in seabird colony size

Assessing long‐term diatom changes in sub‐Arctic ponds receiving high fluxes of seabird nutrients

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About