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COAT scientific papers

Do the forbs miss the Mammoth?

An international team led by a COAT -professor at UiT proposes a mechanism by which the large Pleistocene mammals were essential in promoting a very high floristic diversity, and that a similar mechanism is likely to promote diversity in our contemporary grasslands. The idea arised in the tundra grasslands of Varanger Peninsula during monitoring ...

Photos illustrate the stations from undamaged (left) and defoliated (right) forests. Photo: Ole Petter Laksforsmo Vindstad

31.08.2021

Cascading effects of moth outbreaks on subarctic soil food webs

Large‐scale moth outbreaks have led to profound changes in plant communities from birch forests dominated by dwarf shrubs to grass‐dominated systems. However, the indirect effects on the belowground compartment are poorly known.

Graphical abstract describing the approach used to study population dynamics of Svalbard ptarmigan. First, researchers carefully laid out the hypothesized impacts of several biotic and abiotic factors on ptarmigan dynamics and visualized them through a conceptual model. Then, they fitted state-space models to 15 years of ptarmigan monitoring data to: 1) quantify the effects of potential drivers of population dynamics (explanatory predictions) and 2) assess the ability of candidate models of increasing complexity to forecast next‐year population density (anticipatory predictions).

18.02.2021

Understanding and predicting how climate change impacts Svalbard ptarmigan population dynamics

Iterative near-term forecasting is a promising approach to better understand and manage rapidly changing ecosystems such as the Arctic. Forecasts generated on a short-term time scale allow scientific hypotheses to be tested more frequently, speeding up scientific advancement, and are relevant to managers because the time scale can be influenced by...

Henden et al. 2020 got the front cover of Journal of Applied Ecology nr. 1, January 2021. Photo: Rolf A. Ims.

27.11.2020

It is important to consider food web interactions when assessing how well mesopredator culling programs work

Management of endangered species by culling mesopredators is increasingly common. To what extent such programs work as intended, is less clear. In a new study , COAT researchers evaluated the impact of red fox culling on a threatened ptarmigan species.

Single, whole leaves ready to be processed with Near-infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) methodology

26.10.2020

New method: Chemical traits of single leaves using near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS)

Measures of plant chemical traits are often achieved by merging several leaves, masking potential foliar variation within and among plant individuals. In a new study , COAT researchers developed a new application of Near-infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) methodology that provides measures of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon from ...

18.03.2020

The Arctic is greening, bird populations are declining: Is there a link?

Ecological theory predicts that increased productivity at the base of food chains may raise predation rates at intermediate levels. New research by the Climate-ecological Observatory for Arctic Tundra (COAT) finds a link between plant productivity in tundra landscapes and bird nest predation rates.

17.12.2018

An uncertain future for the mountain birch forest

Outbreaks by geometrid moths have caused extensive damage to mountain birch forest in northern Scandinavia during the last 15 years. A new study helps to explain why the damage has been so severe and suggests that the forest may fail to recover in the most heavily affected areas.

During population peak 2007 tundra voles abundance increased with shelter grass abundance.

24.09.2018

Rodent-plant interactions are temporally variable

Rodent abundance during population peaks in the tundra is highly variable. In a new study COAT researchers attempted to use data from one peak to predict where the rodents would be most abundant during the next peak.

06.02.2018

Goose density influences predation on ground-nesting birds in Svalbard

The number of geese that spend the summer in Svalbard has increased in recent years. Geese nest on the ground, where their eggs and chicks are easy prey for arctic foxes. If goose colonies attract foxes, how might that affect the survival of other birds that nest on the tundra?

Mountain birch trees that have been killed by a moth outbreak in Eastern Finnmark, northern Norway,Photo: Jacob Iglhaut

05.12.2017

Salvage logging of mountain birch after moth outbreaks

Outbreaks of defoliating geometrid moths have damaged thousands of square kilometres of mountain birch forest in northern Scandinavia during the last two decades. Salvage logging of damaged mountain birch stands has been discussed as a means of speeding up the regeneration of the forest.