Interacting impacts of land use and climate changes on ecosystem processes: from cyclic herbivores to predators of conservation concern.

土地利用和气候变化对生态系统过程的相互作用影响：从循环食草动物到保护性捕食者。

• 批准号: NE/G002045/1
• 负责人: Xavier Lambin
• 金额: $ 46.67万
• 依托单位: University of Aberdeen
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2009 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FG002045%2F1
• 关键词: Interacting; impacts; land; use; climate

In recent years, evidence has emerged that dramatic changes in ecosystem processes and functioning are taking place across Europe under the joint impact of climate change and human-induced shift in land use. One of the most spectacular change concerns the populations of keystone herbivore species such as voles and moths with cyclical dynamics that took place nearly simultaneously in much of Europe in the 1990s (Ims et al 2008). Changes in small herbivore dynamics have the potential to lead to ecosystem re-organisation and therefore represent a challenge for the conservation of biodiversity, for which clear management and policy have to be addressed quickly. Indeed several European species of high conservation concern, as well as many birds of prey, are intimately linked to cyclically fluctuating prey. This project encompasses ecosystems as diverse as Lapland tundra, Norwegian taiga forest, UK upland grassland, agricultural plains of France, and agro-steppe in Spain, where small rodents are widely seen as key-stone species for a diverse guild of predators, including species of high conservation concern such as Artic fox, hen and Montagu's harrier or red kite. Interestingly, the dynamics of voles or lemmings have lost their large amplitude and regular cycles in northern areas during the last decades (Norway, UK, France), while the first outbreaks were recently recorded in the south (Spain). The impact of the rodent cycle is likely to be transmitted in the food web of these ecosystems by indirect interactions through, for instance, prey-switching by generalist predators to alternative prey and might lead to a profound re-assembly of predator, parasite and plant communities. Trophic cascades might indeed propagate and amplify between trophic levels subtle changes in primary producer phenology in response to climate change. Understanding how ecosystem processes are affected by the cascading effects of changing small herbivore dynamics is a knowledge gap with tremendous conservation implications. Along with outstanding issues of theoretical interest in population and community dynamics, the main objective of this proposal is to tackle the corollary conservation issues. Acquiring a better knowledge of these complex interactions appears to be essential for designing effective conservation initiatives for top predators and the communities to which they belong. This European collaborative project has been designed around five nested work packages progress from fundamental to decidedly applied issues. First, we will test the following nested set of four hypotheses: 1. that there is currently a geographically extensive syndrome of environmentally-driven (climate and land use), season-specific, changes in small herbivore dynamics across widely different eco-regions in Europe; 2. that these changes have disproportionate (non-linear) impacts on demographic parameters of predators that exploit cyclically fluctuating herbivore prey; 3. that these demographic changes, in turn, impact directly on population viability of predators; 4. and indirectly influence other species in the food web through a cascading effect. The issue of changing rodent dynamics is thus critically important at the European scale, with implications of profound importance to conservation and ecosystem management. Within the last work package (5), we will systematically explore the conservation corollaries of the hypotheses tested that pertain to the impacts of climate and land use changes on biodiversity and to the conservation management of exploited and pristine ecosystems in the face of global change. These include the scope for mitigating and adapting to the changes through alterations of seasonal patterns of land use, and active management of influential species. Together with policy makers and stakeholders, we will explore the ecosystem-level consequences of our findings, alternative management practices and highly-relevant policy implications.

近年来，有证据表明，在气候变化和人类引起的土地利用转变的共同影响下，整个欧洲的生态系统过程和功能正在发生巨大变化。最引人注目的变化之一涉及关键食草动物物种的种群，例如田鼠和飞蛾，其周期性动态在 20 世纪 90 年代的欧洲大部分地区几乎同时发生（Ims et al 2008）。小型食草动物动态的变化有可能导致生态系统重组，因此对生物多样性保护构成挑战，为此必须迅速解决明确的管理和政策。事实上，一些受到高度保护关注的欧洲物种以及许多猛禽与周期性波动的猎物密切相关。该项目涵盖拉普兰苔原、挪威针叶林、英国高地草原、法国农业平原和西班牙农业草原等多种生态系统，其中小型啮齿类动物被广泛视为多种捕食者群体的关键物种，其中包括高度保护关注的物种，如北极狐、母鸡和蒙塔古鹞或红鸢。有趣的是，在过去的几十年里，田鼠或旅鼠的动态在北部地区（挪威、英国、法国）失去了大幅度和规律的周期，而最近在南部地区（西班牙）记录了第一次爆发。啮齿动物周期的影响很可能通过间接相互作用在这些生态系统的食物网中传播，例如，通才捕食者将猎物转换为其他猎物，并可能导致捕食者、寄生虫和植物群落的深刻重组。营养级联确实可能在营养级之间传播和放大，从而导致初级生产者物候的微妙变化，以应对气候变化。了解生态系统过程如何受到小型食草动物动态变化的级联效应的影响是一个具有巨大保护意义的知识差距。除了人口和群落动态方面的理论兴趣的突出问题之外，该提案的主要目标是解决必然的保护问题。更好地了解这些复杂的相互作用似乎对于为顶级捕食者及其所属社区设计有效的保护举措至关重要。这个欧洲合作项目是围绕五个嵌套工作包设计的，从基础问题到明确的应用问题。首先，我们将测试以下嵌套的四个假设： 1. 目前，在欧洲不同的生态区域中，存在着一种地理广泛的环境驱动（气候和土地利用）、特定季节、小型食草动物动态变化的综合症； 2. 这些变化对利用周期性波动的草食动物猎物的捕食者的人口统计参数产生不成比例的（非线性）影响； 3. 这些人口变化反过来直接影响捕食者的人口生存能力； 4.并通过级联效应间接影响食物网中的其他物种。因此，改变啮齿动物动态的问题在欧洲范围内至关重要，对保护和生态系统管理具有深远的影响。在最后一个工作包（5）中，我们将系统地探讨所测试的假设的保护推论，这些假设涉及气候和土地利用变化对生物多样性的影响以及面对全球变化时对开发和原始生态系统的保护管理。其中包括通过改变土地利用的季节性模式以及对有影响的物种进行积极管理来减轻和适应变化的范围。我们将与政策制定者和利益相关者一起探讨我们的研究结果、替代管理实践和高度相关的政策影响对生态系统层面的影响。

项目成果

The interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore.

季节性和密度之间的相互作用：小型循环草食动物中雌性繁殖决策的影响。

• DOI: 10.1186/1472-6785-14-17
• 发表时间: 2014
• 期刊: BMC ecology
• 作者: Pinot A

Body size and habitat use of the common weasel Mustela nivalis vulgaris in Mediterranean farmlands colonised by common voles Microtus arvalis

• DOI: 10.1007/s13364-019-00465-y
• 发表时间: 2019-11-11
• 期刊: MAMMAL RESEARCH
• 影响因子: 1.5
• 作者: Mougeot, Francois;Lambin, Xavier;Luque-Larena, Juan-Jose
• 通讯作者: Luque-Larena, Juan-Jose

Evolution of predator dispersal in relation to spatio-temporal prey dynamics: how not to get stuck in the wrong place!

捕食者扩散的演变与时空猎物动力学的关系：如何不被困在错误的地方！

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054453
• 发表时间: 2013
• 期刊: PloS one
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Travis JM

"Living on the edge": The role of field margins for common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations in recently colonised Mediterranean farmland

• DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.041
• 发表时间: 2016-09-01
• 期刊: AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
• 影响因子: 6.6
• 作者: Rodriguez-Pastor, Ruth;Jose Luque-Larena, Juan;Mougeot, Francois
• 通讯作者: Mougeot, Francois