Long-term monitoring reveals topographical features and vegetation that explain winter habitat use of an Arctic rodent
The quality of wintering habitats, such as depth of snow cover, plays a key role in sustaining population dynamics of Arctic lemmings. However, few studies so far investigated habitat use during the Arctic winter. Here, we used a unique long-term time series to test whether lemmings are associated w...
Published in: | Arctic Science |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English French |
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Canadian Science Publishing
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0010 https://doaj.org/article/5611f3f8149b46d2ac758c2a051f1c36 |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:5611f3f8149b46d2ac758c2a051f1c36 2023-05-15T14:22:25+02:00 Long-term monitoring reveals topographical features and vegetation that explain winter habitat use of an Arctic rodent Xaver von Beckerath Gita Benadi Olivier Gilg Benoît Sittler Glenn Yannic Alexandra-Maria Klein Bernhard Eitzinger 2022-06-01 https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0010 https://doaj.org/article/5611f3f8149b46d2ac758c2a051f1c36 en fr eng fre Canadian Science Publishing doi:10.1139/as-2021-0010 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/5611f3f8149b46d2ac758c2a051f1c36 undefined Arctic Science, Vol 8, Iss 2, Pp 349-361 (2022) Arctic tundra climate change Dicrostonyx groenlandicus habitat use population dynamics toundra arctique envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2022 fttriple https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0010 2023-01-22T17:53:11Z The quality of wintering habitats, such as depth of snow cover, plays a key role in sustaining population dynamics of Arctic lemmings. However, few studies so far investigated habitat use during the Arctic winter. Here, we used a unique long-term time series to test whether lemmings are associated with topographical and vegetational habitat features for their wintering sites. We examined yearly numbers and distribution of 22 769 winter nests of the collared lemming Dicrostonyx groenlandicus (Traill, 1823) from an ongoing long-term research on Traill Island, Northeast Greenland, collected between 1989 and 2019, and correlated this information with data on dominant vegetation types, elevation, and slope. We found that the number of lemming nests was highest in areas with a high proportion of Dryas heath, but was also correlated with other vegetation types, suggesting some flexibility in resource use of wintering lemmings. Furthermore, lemmings showed a higher use for sloped terrain, probably as it enhances the formation of deep snow drifts, which increases the insulative characteristics of the snowpack and protection from predators. With global warming, prime lemming winter habitats may become scarce through alteration of snow physical properties, potentially resulting in negative consequence for the whole community of terrestrial vertebrates. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Arctique* Climate change Dicrostonyx groenlandicus Global warming Greenland toundra Traill Island Tundra Unknown Arctic Greenland Arctic Science 8 2 349 361 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English French |
topic |
Arctic tundra climate change Dicrostonyx groenlandicus habitat use population dynamics toundra arctique envir geo |
spellingShingle |
Arctic tundra climate change Dicrostonyx groenlandicus habitat use population dynamics toundra arctique envir geo Xaver von Beckerath Gita Benadi Olivier Gilg Benoît Sittler Glenn Yannic Alexandra-Maria Klein Bernhard Eitzinger Long-term monitoring reveals topographical features and vegetation that explain winter habitat use of an Arctic rodent |
topic_facet |
Arctic tundra climate change Dicrostonyx groenlandicus habitat use population dynamics toundra arctique envir geo |
description |
The quality of wintering habitats, such as depth of snow cover, plays a key role in sustaining population dynamics of Arctic lemmings. However, few studies so far investigated habitat use during the Arctic winter. Here, we used a unique long-term time series to test whether lemmings are associated with topographical and vegetational habitat features for their wintering sites. We examined yearly numbers and distribution of 22 769 winter nests of the collared lemming Dicrostonyx groenlandicus (Traill, 1823) from an ongoing long-term research on Traill Island, Northeast Greenland, collected between 1989 and 2019, and correlated this information with data on dominant vegetation types, elevation, and slope. We found that the number of lemming nests was highest in areas with a high proportion of Dryas heath, but was also correlated with other vegetation types, suggesting some flexibility in resource use of wintering lemmings. Furthermore, lemmings showed a higher use for sloped terrain, probably as it enhances the formation of deep snow drifts, which increases the insulative characteristics of the snowpack and protection from predators. With global warming, prime lemming winter habitats may become scarce through alteration of snow physical properties, potentially resulting in negative consequence for the whole community of terrestrial vertebrates. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Xaver von Beckerath Gita Benadi Olivier Gilg Benoît Sittler Glenn Yannic Alexandra-Maria Klein Bernhard Eitzinger |
author_facet |
Xaver von Beckerath Gita Benadi Olivier Gilg Benoît Sittler Glenn Yannic Alexandra-Maria Klein Bernhard Eitzinger |
author_sort |
Xaver von Beckerath |
title |
Long-term monitoring reveals topographical features and vegetation that explain winter habitat use of an Arctic rodent |
title_short |
Long-term monitoring reveals topographical features and vegetation that explain winter habitat use of an Arctic rodent |
title_full |
Long-term monitoring reveals topographical features and vegetation that explain winter habitat use of an Arctic rodent |
title_fullStr |
Long-term monitoring reveals topographical features and vegetation that explain winter habitat use of an Arctic rodent |
title_full_unstemmed |
Long-term monitoring reveals topographical features and vegetation that explain winter habitat use of an Arctic rodent |
title_sort |
long-term monitoring reveals topographical features and vegetation that explain winter habitat use of an arctic rodent |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0010 https://doaj.org/article/5611f3f8149b46d2ac758c2a051f1c36 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Arctique* Climate change Dicrostonyx groenlandicus Global warming Greenland toundra Traill Island Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Arctique* Climate change Dicrostonyx groenlandicus Global warming Greenland toundra Traill Island Tundra |
op_source |
Arctic Science, Vol 8, Iss 2, Pp 349-361 (2022) |
op_relation |
doi:10.1139/as-2021-0010 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/5611f3f8149b46d2ac758c2a051f1c36 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0010 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
349 |
op_container_end_page |
361 |
_version_ |
1766295003222507520 |