Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorHarritt, Iris Cato
dc.date.accessioned2022-07-23T20:39:16Z
dc.date.available2022-07-23T20:39:16Z
dc.date.issued2022-05
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11122/12937
dc.descriptionThesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2022en_US
dc.description.abstractStresses imposed by climate change are altering arctic and subarctic ecosystem structure and function. On the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta (YKD) in subarctic western Alaska, Pacific Black Brant geese (Branta bernicla nigricans) are losing their available grazing lawns of shortstatured Carex subspathacea due to its conversion into a taller, less nutritious growth form. However, C. subspathacea on Alaska's Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) grows in extensive lawns that remain short even when ungrazed. Our goal was to compare the growth responses between arctic C. subspathacea and subarctic C. subspathacea when grown in arctic and subarctic conditions. We used reciprocal common gardens to study the variation in height, tiller density, aboveground biomass, and green leaf nitrogen percentage between these reputed taxa. We explored the growth responses that occur in C. subspathacea when grown in the arctic and subarctic using linear mixed effect models. We found that environmental differences between these regions influence the morphology of these taxa. Subarctic C. subspathacea is phenotypically plastic, and was able to grow tall in subarctic conditions, while remaining short in the Arctic. However, arctic C. subspathacea was short in both gardens, suggesting arctic C. subspathacea will not grow tall under warming conditions. Understanding the functional causes of the difference between these two grazing systems is important for predicting the effects of future climate change on both regions. This study provides insight to how changing climate will impact these different growth forms and affect future grazing dynamics along arctic and subarctic coasts.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipUnites States Geological Survey (USGS) Alaska Science Center, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology Summer Graduate Fellowship, Alaska Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Special Requests, the Kathryn E. and John P. Doyle Scholarship, and the Robert and Judy Belous Global Change Research Endowmenten_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.subjectCarexen_US
dc.subjectGlobal warmingen_US
dc.subjectGrazingen_US
dc.subjectMorphologyen_US
dc.subjectTemperatureen_US
dc.subjectGrowthen_US
dc.subject.otherMaster of Science in Biological Sciencesen_US
dc.titleInterpretations of climate change on grazing systems: the comparison of Arctic and Subarctic carexen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.degreemsen_US
dc.identifier.departmentDepartment of Biology and Wildlifeen_US
dc.contributor.chairWolf, Diana
dc.contributor.chairRuess, Roger
dc.contributor.committeeTakebayashi, Naoki
dc.contributor.committeeFlint, Paul
refterms.dateFOA2022-07-23T20:39:17Z


Files in this item

Thumbnail
Name:
Harritt_I_2022.pdf
Size:
2.116Mb
Format:
PDF

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

  • Biological Sciences
    Includes WIldlife Biology and other Biological Sciences. For Marine Biology see the Marine Sciences collection.

Show simple item record