Genetic consequences of conservation action: Restoring the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Scandinavia
The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Fennoscandia experienced a drastic bottleneck in the late 19th century as a result of high hunting pressure. In the 1990s, despite nearly 70 years of protection, the population showed no signs of recovery. In order to mitigate the population decline and...
Published in: | Biological Conservation |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Enheten för miljöforskning och övervakning
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-4005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108534 |
id |
ftnrm:oai:DiVA.org:nrm-4005 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftnrm:oai:DiVA.org:nrm-4005 2023-05-15T14:31:05+02:00 Genetic consequences of conservation action: Restoring the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Scandinavia Hemphill, Elisa June Keeling Flagstad, Øystein Jensen, Henrik Norén, Karin Wallén, Johan Fredrik Landa, Arild Angerbjörn, Anders Eide, Nina E. 2020 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-4005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108534 eng eng Enheten för miljöforskning och övervakning Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Dept of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Department of Zoology, Stockholm University Biological Conservation, 0006-3207, 2020, 248, http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-4005 doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108534 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Genetic variation Population structure Connectivity Dispersal Metapopulation Captive breeding and release Biological Sciences Biologiska vetenskaper Article in journal info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2020 ftnrm https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108534 2021-10-08T07:21:22Z The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Fennoscandia experienced a drastic bottleneck in the late 19th century as a result of high hunting pressure. In the 1990s, despite nearly 70 years of protection, the population showed no signs of recovery. In order to mitigate the population decline and facilitate re-establishment, conservation actions including supplementary feeding and red fox culling were implemented in 1998, followed by the reintroduction of foxes from a captive breeding programme, starting in 2006. A positive demographic impact of these actions is evident from a doubling of the population size over the past decade. We used genetic data collected in eight subpopulations between 2008 and 2015 to address whether the recent demographic recovery has been complemented by changes in genetic variation and connectivity between subpopulations. Our results show that genetic variation within subpopulations has increased considerably during the last decade, while genetic differentiation among subpopulations has decreased. A marked shift in metapopulation dynamics is evident during the study period, suggesting substantially increased migration across the metapopulation. This shift followed the recolonization of an extinct subpopulation through the release of foxes from the captive breeding programme and was synchronized in time with the implementation of supplementary feeding and red fox culling in stepping stone patches between core subpopulations in mid-Scandinavia. Indeed, the increase in genetic variation and connectivity in the Scandinavian arctic fox population suggests that metapopulation dynamics have been restored, which may indicate an increase in the long-term viability of the population. Swedish Arctic Fox Project Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Fox Arctic Fennoscandia Vulpes lagopus Swedish Museum of Natural History: Publications (DiVA) Arctic Biological Conservation 248 108534 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Swedish Museum of Natural History: Publications (DiVA) |
op_collection_id |
ftnrm |
language |
English |
topic |
Genetic variation Population structure Connectivity Dispersal Metapopulation Captive breeding and release Biological Sciences Biologiska vetenskaper |
spellingShingle |
Genetic variation Population structure Connectivity Dispersal Metapopulation Captive breeding and release Biological Sciences Biologiska vetenskaper Hemphill, Elisa June Keeling Flagstad, Øystein Jensen, Henrik Norén, Karin Wallén, Johan Fredrik Landa, Arild Angerbjörn, Anders Eide, Nina E. Genetic consequences of conservation action: Restoring the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Scandinavia |
topic_facet |
Genetic variation Population structure Connectivity Dispersal Metapopulation Captive breeding and release Biological Sciences Biologiska vetenskaper |
description |
The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Fennoscandia experienced a drastic bottleneck in the late 19th century as a result of high hunting pressure. In the 1990s, despite nearly 70 years of protection, the population showed no signs of recovery. In order to mitigate the population decline and facilitate re-establishment, conservation actions including supplementary feeding and red fox culling were implemented in 1998, followed by the reintroduction of foxes from a captive breeding programme, starting in 2006. A positive demographic impact of these actions is evident from a doubling of the population size over the past decade. We used genetic data collected in eight subpopulations between 2008 and 2015 to address whether the recent demographic recovery has been complemented by changes in genetic variation and connectivity between subpopulations. Our results show that genetic variation within subpopulations has increased considerably during the last decade, while genetic differentiation among subpopulations has decreased. A marked shift in metapopulation dynamics is evident during the study period, suggesting substantially increased migration across the metapopulation. This shift followed the recolonization of an extinct subpopulation through the release of foxes from the captive breeding programme and was synchronized in time with the implementation of supplementary feeding and red fox culling in stepping stone patches between core subpopulations in mid-Scandinavia. Indeed, the increase in genetic variation and connectivity in the Scandinavian arctic fox population suggests that metapopulation dynamics have been restored, which may indicate an increase in the long-term viability of the population. Swedish Arctic Fox Project |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hemphill, Elisa June Keeling Flagstad, Øystein Jensen, Henrik Norén, Karin Wallén, Johan Fredrik Landa, Arild Angerbjörn, Anders Eide, Nina E. |
author_facet |
Hemphill, Elisa June Keeling Flagstad, Øystein Jensen, Henrik Norén, Karin Wallén, Johan Fredrik Landa, Arild Angerbjörn, Anders Eide, Nina E. |
author_sort |
Hemphill, Elisa June Keeling |
title |
Genetic consequences of conservation action: Restoring the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Scandinavia |
title_short |
Genetic consequences of conservation action: Restoring the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Scandinavia |
title_full |
Genetic consequences of conservation action: Restoring the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Scandinavia |
title_fullStr |
Genetic consequences of conservation action: Restoring the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Scandinavia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Genetic consequences of conservation action: Restoring the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Scandinavia |
title_sort |
genetic consequences of conservation action: restoring the arctic fox (vulpes lagopus) population in scandinavia |
publisher |
Enheten för miljöforskning och övervakning |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-4005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108534 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Fox Arctic Fennoscandia Vulpes lagopus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Fox Arctic Fennoscandia Vulpes lagopus |
op_relation |
Biological Conservation, 0006-3207, 2020, 248, http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-4005 doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108534 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108534 |
container_title |
Biological Conservation |
container_volume |
248 |
container_start_page |
108534 |
_version_ |
1766304804939759616 |