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High goose abundance reduces nest predation risk in a simple rodent-free high-Arctic ecosystem

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Abstract

Breeding geese are the preferred prey of the Arctic fox Vulpes lagopus in the high-Arctic Svalbard archipelago. According to the apparent competition hypothesis (ACH), less-abundant prey species (e.g. ptarmigan, waders and small passerines) will experience higher predation rates when breeding in association with the more common prey (geese), due to spill-over predation by the shared predator. As many of these less-abundant species are endemic and/or red-listed, increased predation can have negative repercussions on their populations. We used a one-year baited artificial nest study to assess relative nest predation risk on Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta hyperborea, small waders (Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritima, Dunlin Calidris alpina, plovers Charadrius spp., and phalaropes Phalaropus spp.) and Snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis in two study locations contrasted by nesting density of Arctic breeding geese (Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus and Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis). We predicted higher predation risk for the less-abundant species in the study location with higher goose abundance. However, we found that relative nest predation risk was lower in the study location with higher goose abundance, thus being compatible with apparent mutualism and/or prey swamping mechanisms. Our results contrast with those from more structurally complex Arctic ecosystems and suggest that allochtonous subsidies from temperate ecosystems structure the predation pattern in this high-Arctic tundra ecosystem.

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Funding

Funding for this study was provided by the Fram Centre, the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and the University Centre in Svalbard. We thank the field assistants for their hard work in the field: Kaisa Boll, Daniels Karin Amby, Charmain Hamilton, Aino M. Kokkonen, Inka Lipasti, Yann Rashid, Silje Rekdal Larsen and Simon Rilling. We also thank Jesper Madsen and two anonymous reviewers and the chief-editor, Dieter Piepenburg, for valuable comments on the earlier version of the manuscript; Virve Ravolainen for assistance with the vegetation data; and Oddveig Øien Ørvoll for graphical design of maps. The study complied with the current regulations in the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fram Centre, Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), 9296, Tromsø, Norway

    Åshild Ø. Pedersen & Eva Fuglei

  2. The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Postbox 156, 9171, Longyearbyen, Norway

    Pernille B. Eidesen

  3. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT Arctic University of Norway, Langnes, Postbox 6050, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Rolf A. Ims

  4. Arctic Ecology Department, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Fram Centre, 9296, Tromsø, Norway

    Jennifer Stien, Jane U. Jepsen, Audun Stien & Ingunn Tombre

Authors
  1. Åshild Ø. Pedersen
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  2. Jennifer Stien
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  3. Pernille B. Eidesen
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  4. Rolf A. Ims
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  5. Jane U. Jepsen
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  7. Ingunn Tombre
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  8. Eva Fuglei
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Correspondence to Åshild Ø. Pedersen.

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Pedersen, Å.Ø., Stien, J., Eidesen, P.B. et al. High goose abundance reduces nest predation risk in a simple rodent-free high-Arctic ecosystem. Polar Biol 41, 619–627 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-017-2223-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-017-2223-z

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