Voles Are Attracted to Fertilizer in Field Experiments

Treberg, Michael A.; Edwards, Kate A.; Turkington, Roy

doi:10.1657/1938-4246-42.1.113

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These results are consistent with studies on tussock nutrient allocation under fertilized conditions; excess nutrients are stored in overwintering rhizome structures and redistributed in spring to support greater tiller growth (but not greater tiller nutrient concentrations) (Shaver et al, 1986). Fertilization experiments have also demonstrated that higher quality food increases vole abundance and winter activity (Gough et al, 2012; Grellmann, 2002; Treberg et al, 2010). Food experiments further provide a direct link between high‐quality food (in particular high N content) and elevated vole densities (Batzli & Lesieutre, 1995) through greater survival, reproduction, and smaller home ranges that facilitate immigration (e.g., Cole & Batzli, 1979; Desy & Thompson, 1983; Forbes et al, 2014; Taitt et al, 1981).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small herbivores with big impacts: Tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus) alter post‐fire ecosystem dynamics

Steketee

Rocha

Gough

et al. 2022

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fire is an important ecological disturbance that can reset ecosystems and initiate changes in plant community composition, ecosystem biogeochemistry, and primary productivity. As herbivores rely on primary producers for food, changes in vegetation may alter plant–herbivore interactions with important—but often unexplored—feedbacks to ecosystems. Here we examined the impact of post‐fire changes in plant community composition and structure on habitat suitability and rodent herbivore activity in response to a large, severe, and unprecedented fire in northern Alaskan tundra. In moist acidic tundra where the fire occurred, tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus) are the dominant herbivore and rely on the tussock forming sedge Eriophorum vaginatum for both food and nesting material. Tundra voles were 10 times more abundant at the burned site compared with nearby unburned tundra 7‐12 years after the fire. Fire increased the habitat suitability for voles by increasing plant productivity and biomass, food quality, and cover through both taller vegetation and increased microtopography. As a result of elevated vole abundance, Eriophorum mortality caused by vole herbivory was two orders of magnitude higher than natural mortality and approached the magnitude of the mortality rate resulting directly from the fire. These findings suggest that post‐fire increases in herbivore pressure on Eriophorum could, in turn, disrupt graminoid recovery and enhance shrub encroachment. Tundra state transitions from graminoid to shrub dominated are also evident following other disturbances and fertilization experiments, suggesting that as Arctic temperatures rise, greater available nutrients and increased frequencies of large‐scale disturbances may also alter plant–animal interactions with cascading impacts on plant communities and ecosystem function.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small herbivores with big impacts: Tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus) alter post‐fire ecosystem dynamics

Steketee

Rocha

Gough

et al. 2022

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nevertheless, increased plant consumption by slugs in response to N addition has not been ubiquitous (Cleland et al 2006). Vole abundance increased in a N addition Weld experiment conducted by Treberg et al (2010), although herbivore eVects on plant biomass were not quantiWed, and the authors hypothesized that the voles might be directly attracted to the fertilizer pellets. In addition to changes in plant tissue quality, N fertilization could result in a denser canopy cover, which can protect small mammals from avian predators (Birney et al 1976), and vole density has correlated previously with increased plant cover (Mossman 1955;Hall et al 1991).…”

Section: The Inxuence Of Nitrogen Addition On Exclosure Evectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions of herbivore exclusion with warming and N addition in a grass-dominated temperate old field

Moise

Henry

2012

Oecologia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Field experiments used to explore the effects of global change drivers, such as warming and nitrogen deposition on plant productivity and species composition, have typically focused on bottom-up processes. However, both direct and indirect responses of herbivores to the treatments could result in important interactions between top-down and bottom-up effects. These interactions may be complicated by the simultaneous effects of multiple herbivore taxa. We used rodent and mollusc exclosures in the plots of a warming and N addition field experiment to examine how herbivore removal would influence plant biomass responses to the treatments. The effect of rodent exclusion on grass biomass more than doubled in response to nitrogen addition, but did not respond to warming, whereas the effect of mollusc exclusion on grass biomass increased in response to warming, but not nitrogen. In contrast, the effect of rodent exclusion on total biomass (grasses and forbs combined) increased in response to both nitrogen and warming, while the effect of mollusc exclusion on total biomass was insensitive to nitrogen and warming. In no cases were there interactions between nitrogen and warming with respect to their influence on exclosure effects. Overall, our results demonstrated substantial and variable effects of multiple herbivore taxa on plant biomass responses to warming and N addition, despite the absence of conspicuous damage to the plant canopy. These results therefore highlight the potential importance of interactions between top-down and bottom-up factors in global change field experiments.

show abstract

“…This lack of a positive response, especially for the graminoid, Festuca , may in part be due to an unusually high abundance of microtine rodents in 2002 and it is well known that many plants experience increased herbivory when fertilized, especially species growing in low-nutrient environments. There is evidence to suggest that these rodents (voles) may be specifically attracted to the fertilizer added to our experimental plots [48] . Fertilizer level was positively related to the number of over-winter vole nests found in the experimental CDS and unmanipulated plots.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Species-Specific Responses to Community Density in an Unproductive Perennial Plant Community

Treberg

Turkington

2014

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Most studies of density dependent regulation in plants consider a single target species, but regulation may also occur at the level of the entire community. Knowing whether a community is at carrying capacity is essential for understanding its behaviour because low density plant communities may behave quite differently than their high density counterparts. Also, because the intensity of density dependence may differ considerably between species and physical environments, generalizations about its effects on community structure requires comparisons under a range of conditions. We tested if: (1) density dependent regulation occurs at the level of an entire plant community as well as within individual species; (2) the intensity (effect of increasing community density on mean plant mass) and importance (the effect of increasing density, relative to other factors, on mean plant mass) of competition increases, decreases or remains unchanged with increasing fertilization; (3) there are species-specific responses to changes in community density and productivity. In 63 1 m2 plots, we manipulated the abundance of the nine most common species by transplanting or removing them to create a series of Initial Community Densities above and below the average natural field density, such that the relative proportion of species was consistent for all densities. Plots were randomly assigned to one of three fertilizer levels. At the community level, negative density dependence of mean plant size was observed for each of the 4 years of the study and both the intensity and importance of competition increased each year. At the species level, most species' mean plant mass were negatively density dependent. Fertilizer had a significant effect only in the final year when it had a negative effect on mean plant mass. Our data demonstrate a yield-density response at the entire community-level using perennial plant species in a multi-year experiment.

show abstract

Voles Are Attracted to Fertilizer in Field Experiments

Cited by 4 publications

References 25 publications

Small herbivores with big impacts: Tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus) alter post‐fire ecosystem dynamics

Small herbivores with big impacts: Tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus) alter post‐fire ecosystem dynamics

Interactions of herbivore exclusion with warming and N addition in a grass-dominated temperate old field

Species-Specific Responses to Community Density in an Unproductive Perennial Plant Community

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About