Are high Arctic terrestrial food chains really that simple? – The Bear Island food web revisited

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In this Subject: Ecology
By this author: Ian D. Hodkinson ;&nbsp; Stephen J. Coulson

Authors: Ian D. Hodkinson; Stephen J. Coulson

Source: Oikos, Volume 106, Number 2, August 2004 , pp. 427-431(5)

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Abstract:

Summerhayes and Elton's (1923) “nitrogen cycle” diagram for Bear Island (Bjørnøya), Svalbard, is widely used to illustrate the organisation of high Arctic food webs. We present a revision of the terrestrial section of this food web based on 12 years work on Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The level of complexity is much greater than Summerhayes and Elton suggested and the implications for ecological theory are discussed. In particular the low level of primary productivity does not appear to restrict the length of ectotherm food chains. This may in part be due to the open nature of the ecosystem, which receives energy/nutrient subsidies in the form of allochthonous wind-blown insects and detritus, particularly from surrounding aquatic environments. Connectivity is also significantly higher. Our data support the increasingly accepted view that many food webs presented in the literature are gross oversimplifications and that analysis of their structure can produce misleading conclusions.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.13091.x

Publication date: 2004-08-01