title: Global change and ecosystem connectivity: How geese link fields of central Europe to eutrophication of Arctic freshwaters.
abstract: Migratory connectivity by birds may mutually affect different ecosystems over large distances. Populations of geese overwintering in southern areas while breeding in high-latitude ecosystems have increased strongly over the past decades. The increase is likely due to positive feedbacks caused by climate change at both wintering, stopover sites and breeding grounds, land-use practices at the overwintering grounds and protection from hunting. Here we show how increasing goose populations in temperate regions, and increased breeding success in the Arctic, entail a positive feedback with strong impacts on Arctic freshwater ecosystems in the form of eutrophication. This may again strongly affect community composition and productivity of the ponds, due to increased nutrient loadings or birds serving as vectors for new species.
authors.affiliation: Section for Aquatic Biology and Toxicology (AKVA), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316, Oslo, Norway. d.o.hessen@ibv.uio.no.
authors.forename: Dag O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Hessen
authors.affiliation: Department of Arctic Ecology, The Fram Centre, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, P.O. Box, 9296, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Ingunn M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Tombre
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Water Quality, Deltares, P.O. Box 177, 2600 MH, Delft, Netherlands.|Faculty of Science Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, Netherlands.|Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute for Ecology (NIOO), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB, Wageningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gerben
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: van Geest
authors.affiliation: Section for Aquatic Biology and Toxicology (AKVA), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alfsnes
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions; D057231:Climate Change; D017753:Ecosystem; D005060:Europe; D005068:Eutrophication; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D005777:Geese / Q000502:physiology*; D012621:Seasons
keywords: Arctic; Connectivity; Eutrophication; Migration