Life Sciences Commons^™

Understanding The Role Of Small Mammals In Arctic Biogeochemical Cycling, Austin Roy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Small mammals play an integral role in their ecosystems. This is especially true in northern ecosystems, where small mammals represent both top-down and bottom-up forces and can have strong effects on ecosystem function through affecting biogeochemical cycling. Despite these important effects, the role of small mammals in influencing biogeochemical cycling has been largely underappreciated in the understanding of arctic ecosystems, leading to a call to better understand how small mammal herbivores impact ecosystem processes including carbon cycling. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to assess how biogeochemical cycling is affected by small mammal herbivore presence, behavior, and population dynamics …