Red foxes engineer the boreal forest: impacts of denning on vegetation near the Arctic treeline

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dc.contributor.authorLang, Jessica Ashley
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeFord, Bruce (Biological Sciences) Tardif, Jacques (Biology, University of Winnipeg)en_US
dc.contributor.supervisorRoth, James D. (Biological Sciences) Markham, John H.(Biological Sciences)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-07T18:56:34Z
dc.date.available2020-01-07T18:56:34Z
dc.date.issued2019-12-19en_US
dc.date.submitted2019-12-20T03:38:34Zen
dc.date.submitted2020-01-07T17:01:44Zen
dc.degree.disciplineBiological Sciencesen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Science (M.Sc.)en_US
dc.description.abstractTerrestrial predators are known for their role in controlling herbivore populations, but they can also influence vegetation by altering soil nutrients through excretions and redistributing prey remains. Added nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, can modify plant assemblages by alleviating nutrient limitations in soils, thereby altering plant diversity and growth. Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes L.) are a top predator in the Subarctic, and their dens, which are reused over many years, could serve as biogeochemical hotspots for soil nutrients. If nutrient additions by red foxes alter the availability of resources for other organisms, such as plants, then red foxes can be considered ecosystem engineers. My thesis examined the impacts of denning on soils, plant assemblages and tree growth in the Subarctic boreal forest, near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. I quantified and compared soil characteristics (inorganic nitrogen, extractable phosphorus, soil pH and respiration), understory vegetation composition (diversity and abundance) and the growth of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) between red fox dens and paired control sites. Red fox denning increased soil nutrients, pH and respiration (microbial activity), which could indicate higher rates of nutrient mineralization. By increasing soil nutrients and disturbance, red fox denning increased the cover of woody shrubs (Salix L. spp.), grasses (Leymus mollis (Trinius) Pilger) and weedy ephemerals on dens compared to control sites. Increased nutrients also promoted long-term radial growth of white spruce trees on dens, despite having stand characteristics otherwise similar to control sites. Denning by red foxes therefore creates distinct microhabitats near the Arctic treeline. Predators that engineer ecosystems can play critical roles in the structure of ecological food webs by modifying habitat resources in addition to trophic interactions, and can therefore influence a broad suite of other organisms.en_US
dc.description.noteFebruary 2020en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/34457
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.subjectRed foxen_US
dc.subjectEcosystem engineeren_US
dc.subjectTree growthen_US
dc.subjectSubarctic vegetationen_US
dc.subjectSoil nutrientsen_US
dc.subjectVulpes vulpesen_US
dc.titleRed foxes engineer the boreal forest: impacts of denning on vegetation near the Arctic treelineen_US
dc.typemaster thesisen_US
local.subject.manitobayesen_US
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