David S. Hik

Biography

Over the past decades, David Hilk's research interests have focused on the ecology and dynamics of arctic and mountain environments; the determinants of ecological resilience and the interface between science and policy. First is the long-term study of endurance adaptation of alpine herbivorous mammals to global warming and variability.

His team documented how changes in winter temperatures, snow cover phenology, and an increase in woody shrubs can lead to changes in behavior and psychology that may lead to declining populations of the Ring-necked Pika. , The Rocky Mountain Marmot (“Marmota caligata” and alpine ground squirrels beyond the treeline. Second, his team examines the role of invertebrate herbivores in alpine plant communities. The consequences of increasing herbivorous invertebrates in mountain and tundra environments are poorly studied but show the various ways in which they influence alpine plants and interact with other biological species. This work has been expanded to include collaborators from 12 countries across the "  Herbivory Network ”. (In English)

Third, the team conducted experimental studies to better understand the processes that contribute to the rapid increase of woody shrubs (Salix and Betula) beyond the treeline, which includes the role of snow and moss in the softening of the nutrient cycle in soils. In addition, his team were developing tools for plot resizing and scaling observations to entire landscapes using a variety of optical remote sensing methods on land and space.

They paid particular attention to the heterogeneity in the landscape associated with variations of the interannual, space and season in the albedo. In 2013, they established the “Kluane Lake Watershed Collaboratorium” and initiated a comprehensive series of measurements of biophysical properties in the entire water column of the lake. The surface area of ​​Kluane Lake is 400 square km and incorporates changes occurring in the entire watershed (glacier runoff, snow cover, surface hydrology and permafrost, changes in vegetation, fish, pollutants and human activities). They have secured funding for 5 mooring lines that will be deployed in the winter of 2017. Ph.D student Ellorie McKnight is guiding this research, which is being conducted in collaboration with the Kluane First Nation,

David teaches many mountain backcountry courses in English which include “The Mountain World: An Introduction to Interdisciplinary Mountain Studies” (INTD280) and “Introduction to Mountain Backcountry Field Skills” (INTD284). Also, he started with a team that is developing a massive open online course, (CLOM) ​​called “Mountains 101”, and will be offered for the first time in January 2017 (uab.ca/mountains).

Research Summaries

Plant Communities to Curb Climate Warming in Arctic and Alpine Environments

Recent publications

The accuracy of satellite-derived albedo for northern alpine and glaciated land covers
Williamson SN, L Copland & DS Hik
Polar Science doi: 10.1016 / j.polar.2016.06.006 (online Jun 2016)

Phenology and species determine growing season albedo increase at the altitudinal limit of shrub growth in the sub-Arctic
Williamson SN, IC Barrio, DS Hik & JA Gamon
Global Change Biology doi: 10.1111 / gcb.13297 (online May 2016)

Herbivory Network: an international, collaborative effort to study herbivory in northern and alpine environments
Barrio IC, DS Hik, IS Jonsdottir, CG Bueno, M Morsdorf & VT Ravolainen
Polar Science doi: 10.1016 / j.polar.2016.03.001 (online Mar 2016 )

Warming the tundra: reciprocal responses of invertebrate herbivores and plants
Barrio IC, CG Bueno & DS Hik
Oikos 125: 120–128 (Jan 2016)

First records of the Arctic moth Gynaephora groenlandica (Wocke) south of the Arctic Circle - a new alpine subspecies
Barrio IC, C Schmidt, WD Cannings & DS Hik
Arctic 66: 429–434 (Dec 2013)

Shrub canopies influence soil temperatures but not nutrient dynamics: An experimental test of tundra snow-shrub interactions
Myers-Smith IH & DS Hik
Ecology and Evolution 3: 3683–3700 (Oct 2013)

Media

UAlberta and Parks Canada Launch Mountains 101 -  CBC NEWS  / Gateway

Caterpillars' 'Leftovers' Delicious To Mountain Mammal - Inside Science