Impact of prey availability and diet on stress in arctic foxes
Arctic food webs are characterized by multi-year predator-prey cycles. Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) feed primarily on rodents, but also on avian and marine prey when rodents are scarce. I examined temporal variation in the arctic fox diet related to food availability and stress hormones (i.e. corti...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Other Authors: | , |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
2014
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1993/23248 |
id |
ftcanadathes:oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:MWU.1993/23248 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftcanadathes:oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:MWU.1993/23248 2023-05-15T14:31:10+02:00 Impact of prey availability and diet on stress in arctic foxes McDonald, Ryan Roth, James (Biological Sciences) Anderson, Gary (Biological Sciences) Waterman, Jane (Biological Sciences) Crow, Gary (Animal Science) 2014-01-15T20:31:12Z http://hdl.handle.net/1993/23248 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/1993/23248 stable isotope analysis cortisol population cycles ecology trophic interactions food web hormones 2014 ftcanadathes 2014-06-28T23:46:34Z Arctic food webs are characterized by multi-year predator-prey cycles. Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) feed primarily on rodents, but also on avian and marine prey when rodents are scarce. I examined temporal variation in the arctic fox diet related to food availability and stress hormones (i.e. cortisol). Lemmings (Dicrostonyx richardsoni), goslings, and goose eggs were important components of the fall and winter diet. Goslings were important in fall, even when rodents were abundant. Lemmings were most important in winter, even when lemming densities were low. Consuming stored eggs did not reduce cortisol concentrations, suggesting that arctic foxes do not prefer stored eggs to lemmings. I also found that prey hormones increased fecal hormone concentrations of captive arctic foxes, introducing an additional caution for hormone studies involving predators. Nonetheless, relationships between stress hormone concentrations and changes in food availability can provide insight regarding the importance of food sources to consumer populations. Other/Unknown Material Arctic Fox Arctic Dicrostonyx richardsoni Vulpes lagopus Theses Canada/Thèses Canada (Library and Archives Canada) Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Theses Canada/Thèses Canada (Library and Archives Canada) |
op_collection_id |
ftcanadathes |
language |
unknown |
topic |
stable isotope analysis cortisol population cycles ecology trophic interactions food web hormones |
spellingShingle |
stable isotope analysis cortisol population cycles ecology trophic interactions food web hormones McDonald, Ryan Impact of prey availability and diet on stress in arctic foxes |
topic_facet |
stable isotope analysis cortisol population cycles ecology trophic interactions food web hormones |
description |
Arctic food webs are characterized by multi-year predator-prey cycles. Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) feed primarily on rodents, but also on avian and marine prey when rodents are scarce. I examined temporal variation in the arctic fox diet related to food availability and stress hormones (i.e. cortisol). Lemmings (Dicrostonyx richardsoni), goslings, and goose eggs were important components of the fall and winter diet. Goslings were important in fall, even when rodents were abundant. Lemmings were most important in winter, even when lemming densities were low. Consuming stored eggs did not reduce cortisol concentrations, suggesting that arctic foxes do not prefer stored eggs to lemmings. I also found that prey hormones increased fecal hormone concentrations of captive arctic foxes, introducing an additional caution for hormone studies involving predators. Nonetheless, relationships between stress hormone concentrations and changes in food availability can provide insight regarding the importance of food sources to consumer populations. |
author2 |
Roth, James (Biological Sciences) Anderson, Gary (Biological Sciences) Waterman, Jane (Biological Sciences) Crow, Gary (Animal Science) |
author |
McDonald, Ryan |
author_facet |
McDonald, Ryan |
author_sort |
McDonald, Ryan |
title |
Impact of prey availability and diet on stress in arctic foxes |
title_short |
Impact of prey availability and diet on stress in arctic foxes |
title_full |
Impact of prey availability and diet on stress in arctic foxes |
title_fullStr |
Impact of prey availability and diet on stress in arctic foxes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of prey availability and diet on stress in arctic foxes |
title_sort |
impact of prey availability and diet on stress in arctic foxes |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1993/23248 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Fox Arctic Dicrostonyx richardsoni Vulpes lagopus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Fox Arctic Dicrostonyx richardsoni Vulpes lagopus |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/1993/23248 |
_version_ |
1766304866472296448 |