Abstract Project: NW001


Ecological studies on barnacle geese, arctic terns and lakes at the Netherlands Arctic Station

Maarten Loonen (Univ.Groningen)

This project studies the dynamics in the structure of an Arctic terrestrial food web in which migratory birds play a central role. Historical patterns of habitat distribution are analyzed to recognize the effect of local and global anthropogenic drivers of change. Observations over a time-series of 31 years on three trophic levels with details on food availability, diet selection, intake rate, plant-animal interaction, nutrient dynamics, habitat use, reproductive success, timing and behavior of marked individuals (plants, geese/terns and foxes) are combined with predator abundance (fox, glaucous gull and polar bear), predation pressure and disturbance into integrated population models. All elements combined should enable the prediction of future scenarios of anthropogenic impact on species interaction within the food web.


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