RT Journal Article
T1 Ecosystem functioning influences species fitness at upper trophic levels
A1 Regos Sanz, Adrián
A1 Tapia del Río, Luis Enrique
A1 Arenas Castro, Salvador
A1 Gil Carrera, Alberto
A1 Domínguez Conde, Jesús
K1 Golden Eagle
K1 Primary production
K1 Ecosystem functioning
K1 Land surface temperature and Albedo
K1 Ecological fitness
K1 Remote sensing time series
AB Global change is severely affecting ecosystem functioning and biodiversity globally. Remotely sensed ecosystem functional attributes (EFAs) are integrative descriptors of the environmental change—being closely related to the processes directly affecting food chains via trophic cascades. Here we tested if EFAs can explain the species fitness at upper trophic levels. We took advantage of a long-term time series database of the reproductive success of the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)—an apex predator at the upper trophic level—over a 17-year period across a bioclimatic gradient (NW Spain; c. 29,575 km2). We computed a comprehensive database of EFAs from three MODIS satellite-products related to the carbon cycle, heat dynamics and radiative balance. We also assessed possible time-lag in the response of the Golden Eagle to fire, a critical disruptor of the surface energy budget in our region. We explored the role of EFAs on the fitness of the Golden Eagle with logistic-exposure nest survival models. Our models showed that the reproductive performance of the Golden Eagle is influenced by spatiotemporal variations in land surface temperature, albedo and vegetation productivity (AUC values from 0.71 to 0.8; ΣWi EFAs from 0.66 to 1). Fire disturbance also affected ecological fitness of this apex predator—with a limited effect at 3 years after fire (a time-lagged response to surface energy budget disruptions; ΣWi Fire = 0.62). Our study provides evidence for the influence of the matter and energy fluxes between land surface and atmosphere on the reproductive success of species at upper trophic levels
PB Springer
SN 1432-9840
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/28988
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/28988
LA eng
NO Regos, A., Tapia, L., Arenas-Castro, S. et al. Ecosystem Functioning Influences Species Fitness at Upper Trophic Levels. Ecosystems (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-021-00699-5
NO Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature
DS Minerva
RD 23 abr 2026