Changes in trophic state and aquatic communities in high Arctic ponds in response to increasing goose populations

Thomas C. Jensen; Bjørn Walseng; Dag O. Hessen; Inta Dimante-Deimantovica; Anna A. Novichkova; Elena S. Chertoprud; Mikhail V. Chertoprud; Ekaterina G. Sakharova; Aleksandr V. Krylov; Dagmar Frisch; Kirsten S. Christoffersen

doi:10.1111/fwb.13299

Changes in trophic state and aquatic communities in high Arctic ponds in response to increasing goose populations

Thomas C. Jensen^*, Bjørn Walseng, Dag O. Hessen, Inta Dimante-Deimantovica, Anna A. Novichkova, Elena S. Chertoprud, Mikhail V. Chertoprud, Ekaterina G. Sakharova, Aleksandr V. Krylov, Dagmar Frisch, Kirsten S. Christoffersen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Freshwater Biology

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The high Arctic, including the Svalbard archipelago in the North Atlantic, has been exposed to direct and indirect drivers of climatic change such as rising temperatures and associated changes in hydrology and nutrient fluxes. In addition, the number of migrating birds, particularly geese, increased remarkably in the Svalbard archipelago during the second half of the last century. The higher number of breeding birds potentially affects water quality and the biota in ponds and lakes. We aimed to investigate the potential influence of increasing goose abundance on trophic state, taxon richness, and species composition of freshwater communities in the high Arctic. We hypothesised that higher goose abundance affects the trophic state of shallow lakes and ponds and their taxon richness and species composition. We conducted a survey of selected ponds at Svalbard along a goose abundance gradient. We used the number of area-specific goose droppings (range of 0–94 droppings m ² ) as a proxy of goose presence and measured proxies for productivity as well as taxon richness and composition of phytoplankton and invertebrate communities. Presence and abundance of geese were associated with higher productivity of ponds. Invertebrate and phytoplankton taxon richness correlated (positively) with goose abundance. Both phytoplankton and invertebrate taxon richness increased with increasing nitrogen (N) concentrations. Goose abundance significantly affected phytoplankton species composition, while concentrations of total-N and total phosphorus (P) did not. Species composition of aquatic invertebrates was most strongly affected by goose abundance, but the effect of total-N concentration was also significant. Increased goose abundance was associated with bird driven nutrient enrichment, increased phytoplankton and invertebrate taxon richness and changes of these biological communities. Thus, in addition to climate change, the higher abundances of large migratory water fowl in many polar areas may pose a major additional stress to arctic lakes and ponds. In fact, climate change and bird impact may interact, accelerating ongoing environmental change of arctic freshwater ecosystems.

Original language	English
Journal	Freshwater Biology
Volume	64
Issue number	7
Pages (from-to)	1241-1254
ISSN	0046-5070
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13299
Publication status	Published - Jul 2019

Keywords

climate change
geese
invertebrates
phytoplankton
Svalbard

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1111/fwb.13299

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Jensen, T. C., Walseng, B., Hessen, D. O., Dimante-Deimantovica, I., Novichkova, A. A., Chertoprud, E. S., Chertoprud, M. V., Sakharova, E. G., Krylov, A. V., Frisch, D., & Christoffersen, K. S. (2019). Changes in trophic state and aquatic communities in high Arctic ponds in response to increasing goose populations. Freshwater Biology, 64(7), 1241-1254. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13299

Jensen, TC, Walseng, B, Hessen, DO, Dimante-Deimantovica, I, Novichkova, AA, Chertoprud, ES, Chertoprud, MV, Sakharova, EG, Krylov, AV, Frisch, D & Christoffersen, KS 2019, 'Changes in trophic state and aquatic communities in high Arctic ponds in response to increasing goose populations', Freshwater Biology, vol. 64, no. 7, pp. 1241-1254. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13299

@article{703c2dcfa2e344188d4efa06e613edbb,

title = "Changes in trophic state and aquatic communities in high Arctic ponds in response to increasing goose populations",

abstract = " The high Arctic, including the Svalbard archipelago in the North Atlantic, has been exposed to direct and indirect drivers of climatic change such as rising temperatures and associated changes in hydrology and nutrient fluxes. In addition, the number of migrating birds, particularly geese, increased remarkably in the Svalbard archipelago during the second half of the last century. The higher number of breeding birds potentially affects water quality and the biota in ponds and lakes. We aimed to investigate the potential influence of increasing goose abundance on trophic state, taxon richness, and species composition of freshwater communities in the high Arctic. We hypothesised that higher goose abundance affects the trophic state of shallow lakes and ponds and their taxon richness and species composition. We conducted a survey of selected ponds at Svalbard along a goose abundance gradient. We used the number of area-specific goose droppings (range of 0–94 droppings m 2 ) as a proxy of goose presence and measured proxies for productivity as well as taxon richness and composition of phytoplankton and invertebrate communities. Presence and abundance of geese were associated with higher productivity of ponds. Invertebrate and phytoplankton taxon richness correlated (positively) with goose abundance. Both phytoplankton and invertebrate taxon richness increased with increasing nitrogen (N) concentrations. Goose abundance significantly affected phytoplankton species composition, while concentrations of total-N and total phosphorus (P) did not. Species composition of aquatic invertebrates was most strongly affected by goose abundance, but the effect of total-N concentration was also significant. Increased goose abundance was associated with bird driven nutrient enrichment, increased phytoplankton and invertebrate taxon richness and changes of these biological communities. Thus, in addition to climate change, the higher abundances of large migratory water fowl in many polar areas may pose a major additional stress to arctic lakes and ponds. In fact, climate change and bird impact may interact, accelerating ongoing environmental change of arctic freshwater ecosystems. ",

keywords = "climate change, geese, invertebrates, phytoplankton, Svalbard",

author = "Jensen, {Thomas C.} and Bj{\o}rn Walseng and Hessen, {Dag O.} and Inta Dimante-Deimantovica and Novichkova, {Anna A.} and Chertoprud, {Elena S.} and Chertoprud, {Mikhail V.} and Sakharova, {Ekaterina G.} and Krylov, {Aleksandr V.} and Dagmar Frisch and Christoffersen, {Kirsten S.}",

year = "2019",

month = jul,

doi = "10.1111/fwb.13299",

language = "English",

volume = "64",

pages = "1241--1254",

journal = "Freshwater Biology",

issn = "0046-5070",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Changes in trophic state and aquatic communities in high Arctic ponds in response to increasing goose populations

AU - Jensen, Thomas C.

AU - Walseng, Bjørn

AU - Hessen, Dag O.

AU - Dimante-Deimantovica, Inta

AU - Novichkova, Anna A.

AU - Chertoprud, Elena S.

AU - Chertoprud, Mikhail V.

AU - Sakharova, Ekaterina G.

AU - Krylov, Aleksandr V.

AU - Frisch, Dagmar

AU - Christoffersen, Kirsten S.

PY - 2019/7

Y1 - 2019/7

N2 - The high Arctic, including the Svalbard archipelago in the North Atlantic, has been exposed to direct and indirect drivers of climatic change such as rising temperatures and associated changes in hydrology and nutrient fluxes. In addition, the number of migrating birds, particularly geese, increased remarkably in the Svalbard archipelago during the second half of the last century. The higher number of breeding birds potentially affects water quality and the biota in ponds and lakes. We aimed to investigate the potential influence of increasing goose abundance on trophic state, taxon richness, and species composition of freshwater communities in the high Arctic. We hypothesised that higher goose abundance affects the trophic state of shallow lakes and ponds and their taxon richness and species composition. We conducted a survey of selected ponds at Svalbard along a goose abundance gradient. We used the number of area-specific goose droppings (range of 0–94 droppings m 2 ) as a proxy of goose presence and measured proxies for productivity as well as taxon richness and composition of phytoplankton and invertebrate communities. Presence and abundance of geese were associated with higher productivity of ponds. Invertebrate and phytoplankton taxon richness correlated (positively) with goose abundance. Both phytoplankton and invertebrate taxon richness increased with increasing nitrogen (N) concentrations. Goose abundance significantly affected phytoplankton species composition, while concentrations of total-N and total phosphorus (P) did not. Species composition of aquatic invertebrates was most strongly affected by goose abundance, but the effect of total-N concentration was also significant. Increased goose abundance was associated with bird driven nutrient enrichment, increased phytoplankton and invertebrate taxon richness and changes of these biological communities. Thus, in addition to climate change, the higher abundances of large migratory water fowl in many polar areas may pose a major additional stress to arctic lakes and ponds. In fact, climate change and bird impact may interact, accelerating ongoing environmental change of arctic freshwater ecosystems.

AB - The high Arctic, including the Svalbard archipelago in the North Atlantic, has been exposed to direct and indirect drivers of climatic change such as rising temperatures and associated changes in hydrology and nutrient fluxes. In addition, the number of migrating birds, particularly geese, increased remarkably in the Svalbard archipelago during the second half of the last century. The higher number of breeding birds potentially affects water quality and the biota in ponds and lakes. We aimed to investigate the potential influence of increasing goose abundance on trophic state, taxon richness, and species composition of freshwater communities in the high Arctic. We hypothesised that higher goose abundance affects the trophic state of shallow lakes and ponds and their taxon richness and species composition. We conducted a survey of selected ponds at Svalbard along a goose abundance gradient. We used the number of area-specific goose droppings (range of 0–94 droppings m 2 ) as a proxy of goose presence and measured proxies for productivity as well as taxon richness and composition of phytoplankton and invertebrate communities. Presence and abundance of geese were associated with higher productivity of ponds. Invertebrate and phytoplankton taxon richness correlated (positively) with goose abundance. Both phytoplankton and invertebrate taxon richness increased with increasing nitrogen (N) concentrations. Goose abundance significantly affected phytoplankton species composition, while concentrations of total-N and total phosphorus (P) did not. Species composition of aquatic invertebrates was most strongly affected by goose abundance, but the effect of total-N concentration was also significant. Increased goose abundance was associated with bird driven nutrient enrichment, increased phytoplankton and invertebrate taxon richness and changes of these biological communities. Thus, in addition to climate change, the higher abundances of large migratory water fowl in many polar areas may pose a major additional stress to arctic lakes and ponds. In fact, climate change and bird impact may interact, accelerating ongoing environmental change of arctic freshwater ecosystems.

KW - climate change

KW - geese

KW - invertebrates

KW - phytoplankton

KW - Svalbard

U2 - 10.1111/fwb.13299

DO - 10.1111/fwb.13299

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85063954444

SN - 0046-5070

VL - 64

SP - 1241

EP - 1254

JO - Freshwater Biology

JF - Freshwater Biology

IS - 7

ER -

Changes in trophic state and aquatic communities in high Arctic ponds in response to increasing goose populations

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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