Kelp and seaweed feeding by High-Arctic wild reindeer under extreme winter conditions
One challenge in current Arctic ecological research is to understand and predict how wildlife may respond to increased frequencies of “extreme” weather events. Heavy rain-on-snow (ROS) is one such extreme phenomenon associated with winter warming that is not well studied but ha...
Published in: | Polar Research |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Norwegian Polar Institute
2012
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v31i0.17258 https://doaj.org/article/9d46eb9625fe42d088df170482084079 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9d46eb9625fe42d088df170482084079 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9d46eb9625fe42d088df170482084079 2023-05-15T14:48:11+02:00 Kelp and seaweed feeding by High-Arctic wild reindeer under extreme winter conditions Brage Bremset Hansen Ronny Aanes 2012-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v31i0.17258 https://doaj.org/article/9d46eb9625fe42d088df170482084079 EN eng Norwegian Polar Institute http://www.polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/17258/pdf_1 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 doi:10.3402/polar.v31i0.17258 0800-0395 1751-8369 https://doaj.org/article/9d46eb9625fe42d088df170482084079 Polar Research, Vol 31, Iss 0, Pp 1-6 (2012) Climate change ground-ice High Arctic marine algae Rangifer tarandus terrestrial herbivore Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v31i0.17258 2022-12-31T08:07:18Z One challenge in current Arctic ecological research is to understand and predict how wildlife may respond to increased frequencies of “extreme” weather events. Heavy rain-on-snow (ROS) is one such extreme phenomenon associated with winter warming that is not well studied but has potentially profound ecosystem effects through changes in snow-pack properties and ice formation. Here, we document how ice-locked pastures following substantial amounts of ROS forced coastal Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) to use marine habitat in late winter 2010. A thick coat of ground ice covered 98% of the lowland ranges, almost completely blocking access to terrestrial forage. Accordingly, a population census revealed that 13% of the total population (n=26 of 206 individuals) and 21% of one sub-population were feeding on washed-up kelp and seaweed on the sea-ice foot. Calves were overrepresented among the individuals that applied this foraging strategy, which probably represents a last attempt to avoid starvation under particularly severe foraging conditions. The study adds to the impression that extreme weather events such as heavy ROS and associated icing can trigger large changes in the realized foraging niche of Arctic herbivores. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Polar Research Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Sea ice Svalbard svalbard reindeer Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Svalbard Polar Research 31 1 17258 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Climate change ground-ice High Arctic marine algae Rangifer tarandus terrestrial herbivore Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
Climate change ground-ice High Arctic marine algae Rangifer tarandus terrestrial herbivore Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 Brage Bremset Hansen Ronny Aanes Kelp and seaweed feeding by High-Arctic wild reindeer under extreme winter conditions |
topic_facet |
Climate change ground-ice High Arctic marine algae Rangifer tarandus terrestrial herbivore Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
One challenge in current Arctic ecological research is to understand and predict how wildlife may respond to increased frequencies of “extreme” weather events. Heavy rain-on-snow (ROS) is one such extreme phenomenon associated with winter warming that is not well studied but has potentially profound ecosystem effects through changes in snow-pack properties and ice formation. Here, we document how ice-locked pastures following substantial amounts of ROS forced coastal Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) to use marine habitat in late winter 2010. A thick coat of ground ice covered 98% of the lowland ranges, almost completely blocking access to terrestrial forage. Accordingly, a population census revealed that 13% of the total population (n=26 of 206 individuals) and 21% of one sub-population were feeding on washed-up kelp and seaweed on the sea-ice foot. Calves were overrepresented among the individuals that applied this foraging strategy, which probably represents a last attempt to avoid starvation under particularly severe foraging conditions. The study adds to the impression that extreme weather events such as heavy ROS and associated icing can trigger large changes in the realized foraging niche of Arctic herbivores. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brage Bremset Hansen Ronny Aanes |
author_facet |
Brage Bremset Hansen Ronny Aanes |
author_sort |
Brage Bremset Hansen |
title |
Kelp and seaweed feeding by High-Arctic wild reindeer under extreme winter conditions |
title_short |
Kelp and seaweed feeding by High-Arctic wild reindeer under extreme winter conditions |
title_full |
Kelp and seaweed feeding by High-Arctic wild reindeer under extreme winter conditions |
title_fullStr |
Kelp and seaweed feeding by High-Arctic wild reindeer under extreme winter conditions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Kelp and seaweed feeding by High-Arctic wild reindeer under extreme winter conditions |
title_sort |
kelp and seaweed feeding by high-arctic wild reindeer under extreme winter conditions |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v31i0.17258 https://doaj.org/article/9d46eb9625fe42d088df170482084079 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Polar Research Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Sea ice Svalbard svalbard reindeer |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Polar Research Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Sea ice Svalbard svalbard reindeer |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 31, Iss 0, Pp 1-6 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://www.polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/17258/pdf_1 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 doi:10.3402/polar.v31i0.17258 0800-0395 1751-8369 https://doaj.org/article/9d46eb9625fe42d088df170482084079 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v31i0.17258 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
31 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
17258 |
_version_ |
1766319273027829760 |