Article
Ecology
Anastasiia Pusenkova, Mathilde Poirier, Davood Kalhor, Tigran Galstian, Gilles Gauthier, Xavier Maldague
Summary: Camera trapping is widely used in ecological studies, but its application in Arctic regions faces challenges due to frost formation on the lens. By adjusting parameters and positioning, camera traps can be optimized for long-term deployment in subnivean environments to track animal behavior in extreme conditions, such as in the Arctic.
Article
Ecology
Andreanne Beardsell, Dominique Gravel, Jeanne Clermont, Dominique Berteaux, Gilles Gauthier, Joel Bety
Summary: Research shows that in the arctic tundra, changes in predator foraging behavior in response to prey density play a significant role in generating positive indirect effects between prey that share a predator.
Article
Ecology
Rebecca A. McCabe, Karen L. Wiebe, Jean-Francois Therrien, Gilles Gauthier, Norman E. Smith, C. Scott Weidensaul, David F. Brinker, Maxime Allard, Marilou G. Skelling, Pierre Molina, Mark R. Fuller, Kirk K. Bates, Kyle H. Elliott
Summary: Human-dominated environments, such as airports, can create ecological traps for wildlife, including the snowy owl. Bird strikes at airports pose a significant threat to flight safety and result in a high number of snowy owl deaths. A study on telemetry-tracked snowy owls found that adult females and immature males were more likely to return to the airport after relocation, and the distance between the release site and the airport influenced the likelihood of return.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Charles Gignac, Line Rochefort, Gilles Gauthier, Esther Levesque, Vincent Maire, Lucas Deschamps, Remy Pouliot, Mylene Marchand-Roy
Summary: The availability of nutrients for tundra vegetation could change drastically due to increasing temperatures and nitrogen deposition in the Arctic. This study found that the impact of increased nitrogen/phosphorus availability through warming was greater than nitrogen deposition alone and promoted the transition from moss-dominated tundra to graminoid-dominated tundra. However, this transition had a time lag of up to 17 years.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Frederic LeTourneux, Gilles Gauthier, Roger Pradel, Josee Lefebvre, Pierre Legagneux
Summary: Nonadditive effects from multiple interacting stressors can have unpredictable outcomes on wildlife. In this study, the combined impact of collar marking and hunting intensity on greater snow geese was evaluated. The interaction between these stressors had a synergistic effect on survival.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Dominique Fauteux, Gilles Gauthier
Summary: The study analyzed 16-year live-trapping data of a cyclic brown lemming population in the Canadian Arctic to investigate the density-dependent processes affecting population growth. The results showed that the proportion of females in the population was inversely density-dependent, with a strong male-biased sex ratio at low densities. Survival rates of adult females and males were lower at low densities. The distances moved by both adult males and females were density-dependent, and the proportion of females in reproductive condition showed weak density-dependence. The study suggests that the high male-biased sex ratio at very low densities may contribute to the prolonged low phase in cyclic brown lemmings.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ornithology
Yannick Seyer, Gilles Gauthier, Jean-Francois Therrien
Summary: In long-lived seabirds, social monogamy and mate and site fidelity are common due to the cost entailed by site change and divorce such as delayed laying or reduced reproductive success. We used 13 years of monitoring data from marked Long-tailed Jaegers Stercorarius longicaudus in the Canadian High Arctic to quantify mate and site fidelity. The study found that faithful mates had higher site fidelity but mate change did not affect laying date or nesting success. The Arctic tundra's short summer and high unpredictability of resources likely favor high site and mate fidelity in this species.
Article
Ecology
David Bolduc, Dominique Fauteux, Catherine A. Gagnon, Gilles Gauthier, Joel Bety, Pierre Legagneux
Summary: Long-term monitoring of wildlife populations has contributed greatly to our understanding of population dynamics and ecosystem functioning. However, a large portion of biodiversity remains unmonitored, and the dynamics of certain key species are still unclear. This study proposes a method using testimonials from field workers to reconstruct past abundances of unmonitored populations. The results show that these testimonials can be used to detect ecological phenomena and provide valuable information for understanding ecosystem functioning.
BASIC AND APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Thierry Grandmont, Peter Fast, Ilona Grentzmann, Gilles Gauthier, Joel Bety, Pierre Legagneux
Summary: This study investigates the effects of environmental perturbation during spring migration on subsequent breeding parameters in a long-lived bird species. The results show that only breeding propensity is affected by the manipulation, and individuals can overcome the effects under normal or good environmental conditions at the breeding site.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lucas Deschamps, Vincent Maire, Lin Chen, Daniel Fortier, Gilles Gauthier, Amelie Morneault, Elisabeth Hardy-Lachance, Isabelle Dalcher-Gosselin, Francois Tanguay, Charles Gignac, Jeffrey M. McKenzie, Line Rochefort, Esther Levesque
Summary: Understanding the feedbacks caused by the release of carbon stored in permafrost and the direct impacts of climate variations on permafrost dynamics is crucial. Indirect effects of global change, such as changes in soil nutrient availability and grazing pressure, can also impact soil properties and heat transfer in the Arctic tundra, affecting the resilience of Arctic ecosystems.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
C. Cameron, D. H. Johnson, G. Gauthier, N. Lecomte, J. -f. Therrien
Summary: Feet and talons are important predatory attributes of raptors, and the hindlimb morphology of owls should reflect their dietary specialization. Different owl species have varied hindlimb morphology, adapted to their main prey types. Talon morphology is linked to prey type in the studied owl species, providing insights for determining the diet of other owl species and studying the ecology and evolution of owls.
JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Louis Moisan, Dominique Gravel, Pierre Legagneux, Gilles Gauthier, Don-Jean Leandri-Breton, Marius Somveille, Jean-Francois Therrien, Jean-Francois Lamarre, Joel Bety
Summary: Seasonal migrants play important roles in transporting energy, nutrients, contaminants, parasites and diseases, and connecting distant food webs between communities and ecosystems. This study provides a network approach to represent and characterize migratory pathways at the community level, using empirical data from a High-Arctic terrestrial community. The findings suggest that the structure of migratory species in the community is influenced by evolutionary and geographic constraints, as well as ecological factors.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Marianne Gousy-Leblanc, Jean-Francois Therrien, Thomas Broquet, Delphine Rioux, Nadine Curt-Grand-Gaudin, Nathalie Tissot, Sophie Tissot, Ildiko Szabo, Laurie Wilson, Jack T. Evans, Victoria Bowes, Gilles Gauthier, Karen L. Wiebe, Glenn Yannic, Nicolas Lecomte
Summary: Genetic analysis revealed low genetic differentiation among Snowy Owls in North America and indicated high genetic intermixing and effective dispersal at the continental scale. The population demographic reconstruction showed a steady decline of North American Snowy Owls since the Last Glacial Maximum, coinciding with global temperature increases. This study suggests that conservation programmes should consider North American Snowy Owls as a genetically homogeneous continental-wide population and acknowledge their sensitivity to long-term global warming since the Last Glacial Maximum.
Article
Ecology
Mathilde Poirier, Gilles Gauthier, Florent Domine, Dominique Fauteux
Summary: This study investigated the winter nests of small mammals and snow physical properties in 4 different habitats (wetland, shrubland, mesic, and riparian) on Bylot Island in the Canadian High Arctic over a period of 13 years and 6 years, respectively. It was found that riparian habitat was the most intensively used by small mammals in winter, as this habitat had faster snow accumulation, the deepest snowpack, and highest temperature in the basal snow layer. However, in the deepest snowpacks, the basal depth hoar layer was denser and less developed, which negatively affected lemming reproduction. Shrubland was considered a habitat of moderate quality due to a soft basal snow layer and deep snowpack, but snow conditions in this habitat depended on weather conditions at the beginning of winter. With climate change, a hardening of the basal snowpack layer and delayed snow accumulation could negatively impact lemming habitats and populations.
Article
Biology
Andreanne Beardsell, Dominique Berteaux, Frederic Dulude-De Broin, Gilles Gauthier, Jeanne Clermont, Dominique Gravel, Joel Bety
Summary: This study investigated whether the presence of one prey species affects the population growth rate of another prey species. By using predator-mediated multi-prey models and population matrix models, the researchers quantified the interaction strength. The study showed that the positive effect of geese on sandpipers' nesting success was outweighed by the negative effect of an increase in fox density, leading to the local exclusion of sandpipers.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
