Ecosystem drivers of an Arctic fox population at the western fringe of the Eurasian Arctic
The distribution of traditional breeding dens on the Varanger Peninsula (70–71°N) in northernmost Fennoscandia indicates that this area once harboured a large Arctic fox population. Early 20th century naturalists regarded the coastal tundra of the Fennoscandian Low Arctic to be a stronghold for the...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
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ftjpolarres:oai:journals.openacademia.net:article/2716 2023-05-15T14:24:32+02:00 Ecosystem drivers of an Arctic fox population at the western fringe of the Eurasian Arctic Ims, Rolf A. Killengreen, Siw T. Ehrich, Dorothee Flagstad, Øystein Hamel, Sandra Henden, John-André Jensvoll, Ingrid Yoccoz, Nigel G. 2018-11-23 application/pdf application/xml https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2716 eng eng Norwegian Polar Institute https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2716/6174 https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2716/6175 https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2716 Polar Research; Vol. 36 No. (sup1) (2017): Special Issue: Arctic Fox Biology and Management 1751-8369 Climate warming food web lemming cycle red fox reindeer spatial subsidy info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2018 ftjpolarres 2021-11-11T19:13:09Z The distribution of traditional breeding dens on the Varanger Peninsula (70–71°N) in northernmost Fennoscandia indicates that this area once harboured a large Arctic fox population. Early 20th century naturalists regarded the coastal tundra of the Fennoscandian Low Arctic to be a stronghold for the species. At the start of our research in 2004, however, the local Arctic fox population was critically small and most neighbouring populations had been extirpated. Here, we synthesize the results of 11 years of research to highlight ecosystem drivers behind the critical state of the Arctic fox in Low-Arctic Fennoscandia. We identify two fundamental drivers: (1) an increasingly climate-driven irregularity of the lemming cycle and (2) a management- and climate-driven increase in the abundance of red fox that is subsidized by more ungulate carrion. Arctic fox reproductive success is low when lemmings are scarce (despite high vole abundance), while red foxes exclude Arctic foxes from high-quality breeding territories in summer and from marine and terrestrial carrion in winter. Red fox culling on Varanger Peninsula may have prevented the extirpation of the Arctic fox population. However, one decade after the onset of this management action the Arctic fox population has failed to increase either because the action has been insufficient or because demographic and environmental stochasticity has precluded a positive response. We discuss options for future research and management of the Arctic fox in the Fennoscandian Low Arctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Fox Arctic Fennoscandia Fennoscandian Polar Research Tundra Varanger Polar Research (E-Journal) Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Polar Research (E-Journal) |
op_collection_id |
ftjpolarres |
language |
English |
topic |
Climate warming food web lemming cycle red fox reindeer spatial subsidy |
spellingShingle |
Climate warming food web lemming cycle red fox reindeer spatial subsidy Ims, Rolf A. Killengreen, Siw T. Ehrich, Dorothee Flagstad, Øystein Hamel, Sandra Henden, John-André Jensvoll, Ingrid Yoccoz, Nigel G. Ecosystem drivers of an Arctic fox population at the western fringe of the Eurasian Arctic |
topic_facet |
Climate warming food web lemming cycle red fox reindeer spatial subsidy |
description |
The distribution of traditional breeding dens on the Varanger Peninsula (70–71°N) in northernmost Fennoscandia indicates that this area once harboured a large Arctic fox population. Early 20th century naturalists regarded the coastal tundra of the Fennoscandian Low Arctic to be a stronghold for the species. At the start of our research in 2004, however, the local Arctic fox population was critically small and most neighbouring populations had been extirpated. Here, we synthesize the results of 11 years of research to highlight ecosystem drivers behind the critical state of the Arctic fox in Low-Arctic Fennoscandia. We identify two fundamental drivers: (1) an increasingly climate-driven irregularity of the lemming cycle and (2) a management- and climate-driven increase in the abundance of red fox that is subsidized by more ungulate carrion. Arctic fox reproductive success is low when lemmings are scarce (despite high vole abundance), while red foxes exclude Arctic foxes from high-quality breeding territories in summer and from marine and terrestrial carrion in winter. Red fox culling on Varanger Peninsula may have prevented the extirpation of the Arctic fox population. However, one decade after the onset of this management action the Arctic fox population has failed to increase either because the action has been insufficient or because demographic and environmental stochasticity has precluded a positive response. We discuss options for future research and management of the Arctic fox in the Fennoscandian Low Arctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ims, Rolf A. Killengreen, Siw T. Ehrich, Dorothee Flagstad, Øystein Hamel, Sandra Henden, John-André Jensvoll, Ingrid Yoccoz, Nigel G. |
author_facet |
Ims, Rolf A. Killengreen, Siw T. Ehrich, Dorothee Flagstad, Øystein Hamel, Sandra Henden, John-André Jensvoll, Ingrid Yoccoz, Nigel G. |
author_sort |
Ims, Rolf A. |
title |
Ecosystem drivers of an Arctic fox population at the western fringe of the Eurasian Arctic |
title_short |
Ecosystem drivers of an Arctic fox population at the western fringe of the Eurasian Arctic |
title_full |
Ecosystem drivers of an Arctic fox population at the western fringe of the Eurasian Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Ecosystem drivers of an Arctic fox population at the western fringe of the Eurasian Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ecosystem drivers of an Arctic fox population at the western fringe of the Eurasian Arctic |
title_sort |
ecosystem drivers of an arctic fox population at the western fringe of the eurasian arctic |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2716 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Fox Arctic Fennoscandia Fennoscandian Polar Research Tundra Varanger |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Fox Arctic Fennoscandia Fennoscandian Polar Research Tundra Varanger |
op_source |
Polar Research; Vol. 36 No. (sup1) (2017): Special Issue: Arctic Fox Biology and Management 1751-8369 |
op_relation |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2716/6174 https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2716/6175 https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2716 |
_version_ |
1766296940666945536 |