RESEARCH NOTE Svalbard reindeer population size and trends in four sub-areas of Edgeøya
In summer 2006 Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) in south-western Edgeøya (Plurdalen, Grunnlinjesletta, Siegelfjellet and Burmeisterfjel-let) showed a low population (181 animals) and recruitment rate, in terms of both calves (9.4%) and yearlings (1.2%). The low recruitment rates w...
Main Authors: | , , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.645.7383 http://www.polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/download/11089/pdf_1/ |
Summary: | In summer 2006 Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) in south-western Edgeøya (Plurdalen, Grunnlinjesletta, Siegelfjellet and Burmeisterfjel-let) showed a low population (181 animals) and recruitment rate, in terms of both calves (9.4%) and yearlings (1.2%). The low recruitment rates were not accompanied by high winter mortality: of only five carcasses found, none were calves born in 2005. A comparison with survey data from 1969 in a restricted part of the study area (Plurdalen and Grunnlinjesletta) shows a consistently low recruitment rate since 1975, indicating a stable or slowly decreasing population. Comprising the northernmost populations of Rangifer, the insular Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) inhabits an environment without grazing competitors or parasitizing insects. Besides polar bears (Ursus maritimus), which occasionally prey on Svalbard reindeer (Derocher |
---|