Century‐long stomatal density record of the nitrophyte, Rubus spectabilis L., from the Pacific Northwest indicates no effect of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide but a strong response to nutrient subsidy
Abstract Triangle Island on Canada's Pacific coast is home to a large, globally important seabird breeding colony. The shrub Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis and tussock‐forming Tufted Hairgrass Deschampsia cespitosa together form ~70% of vegetation coverage and contain the vast majority (~90%) of...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8405 |
| _version_ | 1818369471678513152 |
|---|---|
| author | Ron Ydenberg Ben Leyland Mark Hipfner Herbert H. T. Prins |
| author_facet | Ron Ydenberg Ben Leyland Mark Hipfner Herbert H. T. Prins |
| author_sort | Ron Ydenberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Triangle Island on Canada's Pacific coast is home to a large, globally important seabird breeding colony. The shrub Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis and tussock‐forming Tufted Hairgrass Deschampsia cespitosa together form ~70% of vegetation coverage and contain the vast majority (~90%) of seabird nesting burrows. Salmonberry has in recent decades greatly expanded its coverage, while that of Tufted Hairgrass has receded. Seabirds prefer not to burrow under Salmonberry, making its ongoing expansion a potential conservation issue. We investigated three hypotheses proposed to explain Salmonberry's expansion (climate change, biopedturbation, and nutrient input), using comparisons of stomatal density of Salmonberry leaves sampled from Triangle Island, other seabird colonies, other coastal locations, and from historical specimens in herbaria. Stomatal density helps regulate photosynthetic gain and control water loss, and responds to light, nutrient, carbon dioxide, and water availability. Differing patterns of stomatal density are expected among sample locations depending on which of the hypothesized factors most strongly affects Salmonberry's performance. Our data are most consistent with the nutrient input hypothesis. We discuss possible reasons why Salmonberry has expanded so recently, even though Triangle has been a large seabird colony for at least a century and likely much longer. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:24:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-82d0653c59c04f449c0f7f5512b35d27 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:24:22Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-82d0653c59c04f449c0f7f5512b35d272022-12-21T23:27:35ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582021-12-011124180811808810.1002/ece3.8405Century‐long stomatal density record of the nitrophyte, Rubus spectabilis L., from the Pacific Northwest indicates no effect of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide but a strong response to nutrient subsidyRon Ydenberg0Ben Leyland1Mark Hipfner2Herbert H. T. Prins3Department of Biological Sciences Centre for Wildlife Ecology Simon Fraser University Burnaby BC CanadaAlbert Katz International School for Desert Studies Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research Ben‐Gurion University of the Negev Midreshet IsraelWildlife Research Division Environment and Climate Change Canada Delta BC CanadaResource Ecology Group Wageningen University Wageningen The NetherlandsAbstract Triangle Island on Canada's Pacific coast is home to a large, globally important seabird breeding colony. The shrub Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis and tussock‐forming Tufted Hairgrass Deschampsia cespitosa together form ~70% of vegetation coverage and contain the vast majority (~90%) of seabird nesting burrows. Salmonberry has in recent decades greatly expanded its coverage, while that of Tufted Hairgrass has receded. Seabirds prefer not to burrow under Salmonberry, making its ongoing expansion a potential conservation issue. We investigated three hypotheses proposed to explain Salmonberry's expansion (climate change, biopedturbation, and nutrient input), using comparisons of stomatal density of Salmonberry leaves sampled from Triangle Island, other seabird colonies, other coastal locations, and from historical specimens in herbaria. Stomatal density helps regulate photosynthetic gain and control water loss, and responds to light, nutrient, carbon dioxide, and water availability. Differing patterns of stomatal density are expected among sample locations depending on which of the hypothesized factors most strongly affects Salmonberry's performance. Our data are most consistent with the nutrient input hypothesis. We discuss possible reasons why Salmonberry has expanded so recently, even though Triangle has been a large seabird colony for at least a century and likely much longer.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8405atmospheric carbon dioxidenutrient subsidyRubus spectabilisseabird islandsstomatal density |
| spellingShingle | Ron Ydenberg Ben Leyland Mark Hipfner Herbert H. T. Prins Century‐long stomatal density record of the nitrophyte, Rubus spectabilis L., from the Pacific Northwest indicates no effect of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide but a strong response to nutrient subsidy Ecology and Evolution atmospheric carbon dioxide nutrient subsidy Rubus spectabilis seabird islands stomatal density |
| title | Century‐long stomatal density record of the nitrophyte, Rubus spectabilis L., from the Pacific Northwest indicates no effect of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide but a strong response to nutrient subsidy |
| title_full | Century‐long stomatal density record of the nitrophyte, Rubus spectabilis L., from the Pacific Northwest indicates no effect of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide but a strong response to nutrient subsidy |
| title_fullStr | Century‐long stomatal density record of the nitrophyte, Rubus spectabilis L., from the Pacific Northwest indicates no effect of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide but a strong response to nutrient subsidy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Century‐long stomatal density record of the nitrophyte, Rubus spectabilis L., from the Pacific Northwest indicates no effect of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide but a strong response to nutrient subsidy |
| title_short | Century‐long stomatal density record of the nitrophyte, Rubus spectabilis L., from the Pacific Northwest indicates no effect of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide but a strong response to nutrient subsidy |
| title_sort | century long stomatal density record of the nitrophyte rubus spectabilis l from the pacific northwest indicates no effect of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide but a strong response to nutrient subsidy |
| topic | atmospheric carbon dioxide nutrient subsidy Rubus spectabilis seabird islands stomatal density |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8405 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ronydenberg centurylongstomataldensityrecordofthenitrophyterubusspectabilislfromthepacificnorthwestindicatesnoeffectofchangingatmosphericcarbondioxidebutastrongresponsetonutrientsubsidy AT benleyland centurylongstomataldensityrecordofthenitrophyterubusspectabilislfromthepacificnorthwestindicatesnoeffectofchangingatmosphericcarbondioxidebutastrongresponsetonutrientsubsidy AT markhipfner centurylongstomataldensityrecordofthenitrophyterubusspectabilislfromthepacificnorthwestindicatesnoeffectofchangingatmosphericcarbondioxidebutastrongresponsetonutrientsubsidy AT herberthtprins centurylongstomataldensityrecordofthenitrophyterubusspectabilislfromthepacificnorthwestindicatesnoeffectofchangingatmosphericcarbondioxidebutastrongresponsetonutrientsubsidy |