Nationwide trophic cascades: changes in avian community structure driven by ungulates.

ABSTRACT: In recent decades, many ungulate populations have changed dramatically in abundance, resulting in cascading effects across ecosystems. However, studies of such effects are often limited in their spatial and temporal scope. Here, we contrast multi-species composite population trends of deer-sensitive and deer-tolerant woodland birds at a national scale, across Britain. We highlight the divergent fates of these two groups between 1994 and 2011, and show a striking association between the calculated divergence and a composite population trend of woodland deer. Our results demonstrate the link between changes in deer populations and changes in bird communities. In a period when composite population trends for deer increased by 46%, the community population trend across deer-sensitive birds (th

SUBMITTER: Palmer G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4620481 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature