Wetland development at Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada

Nicholson, Barbara J.; Vitt, Dale H.

doi:10.1007/bf00677987

Cited by 24 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…When fish were extirpated from EW, there was however no reversal in teal foraging patterns. This suggests that the effect of fish colonization on teal foraging effort was longer-term than we expected, even in a dynamic system like Aspen Parkland (Nicholson & Vitt, 1994), where fish colonizations and extirpations are frequent events. There is little evidence for long-term effects of fish removals on birds in eutrophic systems (Bergman et al, 1999), and none at all on the long-term effects of fish colonizations on birds.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 57%

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Effects of small-bodied fish on invertebrate prey and foraging patterns of waterbirds in Aspen Parkland wetlands

McParland

Paszkowski

2006

Hydrobiologia

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Competition between large-bodied fish and waterbirds for aquatic invertebrates is well documented in oligotrophic lakes. Recent evidence suggests that small-bodied fish that colonize eutrophic, hypoxia-prone wetlands such as prairie potholes can also reduce aquatic invertebrates, but the effects of these reductions on breeding waterbirds have so far not been directly documented. We added brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans) and fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) to a fishless wetland in Aspen Parkland potholes in central Alberta, Canada. We monitored invertebrate biomasses and the foraging effort of blue-winged teal (Anas discors) and red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) before and after the addition, relative to reference wetlands with and without fish. Fish reduced the biomass of gastropod prey of blue-winged teal, and teals increased foraging effort when fish were added. When the fish failed to overwinter due to hypoxic conditions, gastropod biomass increased, but teal foraging effort did not return to pre-treatment levels. Amphipods and chironomids increased following fish addition, possibly due to indirect positive effects of fish. Red-necked grebes did not exhibit any changes in foraging effort as a result of the fish addition or the subsequent fish extirpation. Grebes in Aspen Parkland appear to treat fish and invertebrates as equivalent prey. This study suggests that small-bodied fish in eutrophic systems can reduce some important invertebrate prey and change foraging behaviour of blue-winged teal and other waterbirds that rely on those invertebrates. Land-use practices that encourage survival of colonizing fish through drought years in Aspen Parkland wetlands, such as wetland consolidation, should not be encouraged.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 57%

“…North America's Aspen Parkland, a transitional zone between prairies and boreal forest (Nicholson & Vitt, 1994), contains many shallow meso-to hypertrophic freshwater potholes ($30 lg/l to >400 lg/l total phosphorus; Nicholson, 1995;C. McParland, unpubl.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of small-bodied fish on invertebrate prey and foraging patterns of waterbirds in Aspen Parkland wetlands

McParland

Paszkowski

2006

Hydrobiologia

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“…Since the Aspen Parkland is a transitional zone between prairies and boreal forest (Nicholson and Vitt 1994), it is not surprising that many of the food-web relationships are similar between parkland and boreal aquatic ecosystems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rednecked Grebes avoid seemingly appropriate breeding habitats in northern Europe owing to competition with fish (Wagner and Hansson 1998). However, they feed and breed on wetlands with and without fish in North America (Stout and Nuechterlein 1999), including the shallow, meso-to hyper-trophic potholes (Nicholson and Vitt 1994) of the Aspen Parkland of western Canada. These wetlands are poorly studied, but they support many species of breeding waterbirds (Savard et al 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic relationships of breeding Red-necked Grebes (Podiceps grisegena) on wetlands with and without fish in the Aspen Parkland

2010

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Dietary overlap between waterbirds and fish in many freshwater systems can lead to competition for food resources and changes in the trophic position of top predators. We used stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen from egg tissues to document differences in the trophic position of breeding Red-necked Grebes (Podiceps grisegena (Boddaert, 1783)) on wetlands with and without fish in the Aspen Parkland of Alberta, Canada. Grebes occupied higher trophic levels in the presence of fish than in their absence, suggesting that small-bodied fish in Aspen Parkland food webs may lengthen food chains in which grebes are top predators. A mixed diet of invertebrates and fishes may be adaptive for grebes in this highly variable ecosystem where fish colonize wetlands in wet years and are extirpated in dry years. Carbon analyses indicated that female grebes likely obtained resources for egg production from breeding sites and not from wintering areas, as eggs had similar d 13 C values to wetland primary producers, invertebrates, and fishes.Résumé : Le chevauchement alimentaire entre les oiseaux aquatiques et les poissons dans plusieurs systèmes d'eau douce peut entraîner une compétition pour les ressources alimentaires et des changements de position trophique des prédateurs supérieurs. Une analyse des isotopes stables de carbone et d'azote dans les tissus des oeufs nous sert à déterminer les diffé-rences de position trophique de grèbes jougris (Podiceps grisegena (Boddaert, 1783) dans des terres humides avec et sans poissons dans les forêts-parcs à trembles d'Alberta, Canada. Les grèbes occupent une position trophique plus élevée en présence de poissons qu'en leur absence, ce qui laisse croire que les poissons de petite taille dans les réseaux alimentaires des forêts-parcs à trembles peuvent allonger les chaînes alimentaires dans lesquels les grèbes sont les prédateurs supé-rieurs. Un régime alimentaire mixte d'invertébrés et de poissons peut être adaptatif pour les grèbes dans cet écosystème très variable dans lequel les poissons colonisent les terres humides les années de pluie et sont éliminés les années sèches. Les analyses de carbone indiquent que les grèbes femelles obtiennent vraisemblablement les ressources pour leur production d'oeufs des sites de reproduction et non des aires d'hivernage, puisque les oeufs possèdent des valeurs de d 13 C semblables à celles des producteurs primaires, invertébrés et poissons des terres humides.[Traduit par la Rédaction]

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“…In boreal forest communities, trees and shrubs increase in abundance when water tables are lower. This could have been induced by a period of drawdown or by successional infilling, as the surface of non-floating wetlands become increasingly elevated above the water as peat accumulates (Nicholson 1995;Nicholson and Vitt 1994). Subsequent decline in the amount of wood and Sphagnum closer to the surface in the three shoreline cores (0.7, 39, and 71) suggests that wetter, more minerotrophic conditions followed the Sphagnum stage.…”

Section: Community Changesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Inferred history of a boreal pond from sediment and vegetation characteristics

Nicholson¹,

Bayley²,

Whitehouse³

2006

Can. J. Soil. Sci.

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. 2006. Inferred history of a boreal pond from sediment and vegetation characteristics. Can. J. Soil Sci. 86: 335-347. Shallow ponds associated with peatlands in boreal Alberta contain large quantities of stored carbon in their peaty sediments, and exhibit spatial changes in response to dry or wet conditions. Peatland ponds around Utikuma Lake experienced a partial to nearly complete drawdown in 2002, in response to drought. A fourfold investigation was begun to assess the natural drought and flood cycles, assess the current C stocks along the shore, determine what species were colonizing the newly exposed shorelines, and to place the magnitude of the current drought into historical perspective. Ten vegetation communities were found to have colonized the exposed sediments. Paleostratigraphy shows that the surface communities differ markedly from paleocommunities. Stratigraphy of the wetland sediments demonstrates that only two changes occurred, one a successional switch from a sedge-dominated marsh to a forested bog, the other a much more recent disturbance that caused water levels near the pond to rise. No evidence of constantly changing paleocommunities was found, suggesting that previous droughts have not left a visible paleorecord. The more recent disturbance has likely redistributed peat into the pond basins and subsequently it has broken down to detritial peat, altering its physical structure, and perhaps its rate of decomposition. Continued exposure of the peat is likely to enhance decomposition. In this study both flooding and drought may have impacted the wetland in ways likely to result in higher rates of decomposition and enhanced CO 2 emissions under global warming. , les étangs tourbeux de la région du lac Utikuma se sont presque entièrement asséchés consécutivement à la sécheresse. Les auteurs ont entrepris une étude en quatre volets afin d'évaluer les cycles naturels de sécheresse et d'inondation, de mesurer les réserves actuelles de carbone sur les rives, d'identifier les espèces colonisant les fonds exposés et de classer la gravité de la nouvelle sécheresse dans son contexte historique. Dix populations végétales colonisent les sédiments exposés. La paléostratigraphie révèle que les populations en surface diffèrent nettement des communautés plus anciennes. La stratigraphie des sédiments tourbeux ne révèle que deux changements : une modification dans la succession des plantes durant laquelle le marais de carex s'est transformé en tourbière boisée et une perturbation beaucoup plus récente qui a entraîné une élé-vation du niveau de l'eau près de l'étang. Les auteurs n'ont relevé aucun indice d'une constante modification des paléocommu-nautés, signe que les sécheresses précédentes n'ont pas laissé de signes visibles derrière elles. La perturbation la plus récente a sans doute donné lieu à une nouvelle répartition de la tourbe dans l'étang. La tourbe est devenue détritique, ce qui en a modifié la structure et éventuellement le taux de décomposition. Si la tourbe reste exposée, sa décomposition s'accél...

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Wetland development at Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada

Cited by 24 publications

References 45 publications

Effects of small-bodied fish on invertebrate prey and foraging patterns of waterbirds in Aspen Parkland wetlands

Effects of small-bodied fish on invertebrate prey and foraging patterns of waterbirds in Aspen Parkland wetlands

Trophic relationships of breeding Red-necked Grebes (Podiceps grisegena) on wetlands with and without fish in the Aspen Parkland

Inferred history of a boreal pond from sediment and vegetation characteristics

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