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The impact of cormorants on plant–arthropod food webs on their nesting islands
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany.
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany.
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6362-6199
2010 (English)In: Ecosystems (New York. Print), ISSN 1432-9840, E-ISSN 1435-0629, Vol. 13, no 3, p. 353-366Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This study investigated the effects of cormorant colonies on plant–arthropod island food webs, the consequences of nutrient-rich runoff on marine communities, and feedback loops from marine to terrestrial ecosystems. Terrestrial plant responses were as expected, with the highest plant biomass on islands with low nest density and the highest nitrogen (N) content on islands with high nest density. In contrast to our hypothesis, we found no uniform density response across guilds. Among herbivores, the variable responses may depend on the relative importance of plant quality or quantity. As expected, nutrient-rich runoff entered water bodies surrounding cormorant nesting islands, but only at high nest density, and increased the density of emerging insects. This created a potential feed-back loop to spiders (major terrestrial predators), where stable isotope analyses suggested great use of chironomids. Contrary to our expectation, this potential feed-back did not result in the highest spider density on islands with a high cormorant nest density. Web spiders showed no changes in density on active cormorant islands, and lycosids were actually less abundant on active cormorant islands compared to reference islands. The variable response of spiders despite increased dipteran densities, and also in other consumer groups, may be due to direct negative effects of cormorants on soil chemistry, vegetation cover, and other density regulating forces (for example, top–down forces) not studied here. This study highlights the importance of including processes in the surrounding marine ecosystem to understand the impacts of seabirds on the food web structures of their nesting islands. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2010. Vol. 13, no 3, p. 353-366
Keywords [en]
seabird islands, food webs, vegetation, chironomids, stable isotopes, nitrogen
National Category
Biological Sciences
Research subject
Plant Ecology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-43292DOI: 10.1007/s10021-010-9323-8ISI: 000277283600001OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-43292DiVA, id: diva2:355310
Available from: 2010-10-06 Created: 2010-10-06 Last updated: 2022-02-24Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. The impact of cormorant nesting colonies on plants and arthropods
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The impact of cormorant nesting colonies on plants and arthropods
2010 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Seabirds concentrate large amounts of marine nutrients on their nesting islands. This nutrient input can have large consequences for island food webs and community structure. The high nutrient load may also cause runoff into surrounding waters and affect marine communities. In my thesis, I studied the effect of cormorant nesting colonies on the stoichiometry, abundance, species richness, and species composition of plants, algae, and invertebrates on land and in costal waters and investigated if differences in the elemental composition or homeostasis can explain differences in the numerical response among invertebrate groups. δ15N analysis indicated that ornithogenic nitrogen provided a significant nitrogen source for plants and arthropods on nesting islands and around high nest density islands also for brackish algae and invertebrates. Furthermore, nutrient runoff created a potential feed-back loop to spiders via chironomids. Cormorant nutrient input changed island vegetation and increased plant P and N content and epiphytic algae:Fucus ratio, but decreased plant species richness and vegetation cover. Invertebrates responded indirectly to these qualitative and quantitative changes in their food source and habitat, but also directly to cormorant subsidies. However not all taxonomic and feeding groups were affected and responses were both positive and negative. Differences in the numerical response among taxonomic groups could not be explained by differences in the level of homeostasis, since, generally, all invertebrates were strongly homeostatic. Similarly, consumer nutrient content was a poor predictor for displayed responses. I conclude that cormorant colonies have strong impacts on island vegetation and some consumer groups. However, even if they can decrease the species richness of some organism groups on their nesting islands, they increase the habitat heterogeneity in an archipelago and thus may increase the regional species diversity.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Department of Botany, Stockholm University, 2010. p. 80
Keywords
seabirds, cormorants, islands, nitrogen, phosphorus, plants, arthropods, δ15N, Baltic Sea, ecological stoichiometry, species richness, species composition, numeric response
National Category
Biological Sciences
Research subject
Plant Ecology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-43165 (URN)978-91-7447-147-2 (ISBN)
Public defence
2010-11-05, föreläsningssalen, Botanicum, Lilla Frescativägen 5, Stockholm, 10:00 (English)
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Supervisors
Note
At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Accepted. Paper 4: Manuscript.Available from: 2010-10-14 Created: 2010-10-01 Last updated: 2022-02-24Bibliographically approved

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Kolb, Gundula S.Jerling, LennHambäck, Peter A.

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