Arctic Field Projects
Project Title: Trophic Mismatch and Its Consequences for Dynamics of an Arctic Herbivore (Award# 0713994)
PI: Post, Eric (ESP10@psu.edu)
Phone: (814) 865.1556
Institute/Department: Penn State University, Department of Biology
IPY Project? NO
Funding Agency: US\Federal\NSF\OD\OPP\ARC\ANS
Program Manager: Dr. William Wiseman (wwiseman@nsf.gov)
Discipline(s): | Biology\Community Ecology | Biology\Plants | Biology\Population | Biology\Vertebrates | Meteorology and Climate |
| Project Web Site(s): |
| Initiative: http://www.bio.psu.edu/people/faculty/post/people.htm |
| NSF_Award_Info: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0713... |
Science Summary:
The phenomenon of trophic mismatch may represent one of the most important climate change threats to the persistence of migratory vertebrates in the far north, yet its role in the dynamics of arctic populations has not been investigated. With this project, the PI (who has been studying caribou population dynamics since 1993) will investigate changes in the timing of caribou calving in Greenland in relation to changes in plant phenology on their calving grounds, and the consequences of such changes for caribou calf production and population persistence. The timing of key life history events is matched to the seasonal timing of food availability and quality in the Arctic. As the timing of plant emergence and growth shifts in response to climate change, the seasonal cycle of caribou - constrained by other seasonal events, like day length - will be challenged. The researchers will study the timing of calving in Greenland in a site near Kangerlussuaq where the PI has a long term record of caribou calving and plant growth. The investigators will explore the consequences of mismatch in population models. Results from the investigation of such seasonal dynamics in caribou ecology are expected to be broadly applicable to other components of the Arctic biota.
Logistics Summary:
With this project, scientists from Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, Santa Cruz, will continue caribou research (earlier investigations are carried in this database under grant NatGeo). For three consecutive field seasons beginning in 2008, the researchers will study the impact of variation in plant growing season (a result of climate warming in Greenland) on caribou reproduction. From 2008 – 2010, a field team of three will travel to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, to work in the Lake Aujuitsup Tasia area thrice yearly - in May, June, and July. They will take data related to plant-growing dynamics at plots that were established in 2002, and which are found in a known caribou calving area. Near-daily for the length of each stay, the team will also conduct a census of at least 50 female caribou (and their newborn offspring) to document the onset and progression of calving season. Back in the labs, the researchers will plot the relationship of plant growth (emergence, abundance, peak growing season, etc.) with caribou calving dynamics (production, mortality, etc). These efforts will contribute to the scientists’ efforts to incorporate trophic mismatch and climate change into models of caribou population dynamics. During 2008 and 2009, the PI will work in cooperation with a team from Jeff Welker's ITEX experiment (grant 0632184). This project coincides with the PI's one-year residency at the Danish Ministry of Environment, in this database as grant 0732168, during which he will promote a formal collaboration involving the exchange of students and post-docs in his lab (who work in Kangerlussuaq) with those from the host lab at the Danish Ministry of Environment. The former have historically worked in Kangerlussuaq, while the latter have historically worked in Zackenberg.
For each year of field work, CPS will provide ANG flight coordination and as-available support in Kangerlussuaq. The PI will arrange and pay for all other logistics support through the grant.
| Season | Field Site | Date In | Date Out | #People |
| 2008 | Greenland - Kangerlussuaq | 05 / 28 / 2008 | 08 / 02 / 2008 | 6 |
| 2009 | Greenland - Kangerlussuaq | 05 / 11 / 2009 | 08 / 24 / 2009 | 7 |
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