Goose persistence in fall strongly influences Arctic fox diet, but not reproductive success, in the southern Arctic
Food availability is the primary limitation for terrestrial Arctic predators, many of which rely on rodents that fluctuate in abundance over a 3–5-year period. During rodent scarcity, predators such as Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) consume alternative prey, such as migratory birds, which are plentif...
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Language: | English |
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2017
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2017.1324652 https://doaj.org/article/7c777188865241ceb73e8d6aa546a05d |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:7c777188865241ceb73e8d6aa546a05d 2023-05-15T14:31:04+02:00 Goose persistence in fall strongly influences Arctic fox diet, but not reproductive success, in the southern Arctic Ryan S. McDonald James D. Roth Frank B. Baldwin 2017-09-01 https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2017.1324652 https://doaj.org/article/7c777188865241ceb73e8d6aa546a05d en eng Norwegian Polar Institute 1751-8369 doi:10.1080/17518369.2017.1324652 https://doaj.org/article/7c777188865241ceb73e8d6aa546a05d undefined Polar Research, Vol 36, Iss 0 (2017) Foraging ecology predator–prey interactions food–web/trophic dynamics pulsed resources population dynamics migratory prey envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2017 fttriple https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2017.1324652 2023-01-22T18:03:49Z Food availability is the primary limitation for terrestrial Arctic predators, many of which rely on rodents that fluctuate in abundance over a 3–5-year period. During rodent scarcity, predators such as Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) consume alternative prey, such as migratory birds, which are plentiful during summer. In most of the Arctic these birds return south by August, but in northern Manitoba, near the southern edge of the Arctic fox distribution, large numbers of lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) and Canada geese (Branta canadensis interior) persist into October. This extended availability of geese late into fall may reduce the dependence of Arctic foxes on rodents. We used stable isotope and faecal analyses to reconstruct the Arctic fox fall and winter diet and related the most probable contributions of lemmings, goose eggs and juvenile geese with changes in prey availability and fox reproduction. Geese were a potentially important component of the fall diet for Arctic foxes, especially in years with high goose productivity, but rodents were the main component of the diet in late winter, even though rodents were scarce each summer (2010–2013). Furthermore, rodent density had a greater influence on Arctic fox reproduction, which was correlated with the subsequent winter harvest, than any other variable examined. Although geese were important fall prey for Arctic foxes at the southern edge of their distribution, they did not buffer declines in availability of rodents, which were the primary prey in April when food availability is critical for Arctic fox reproduction. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Fox Arctic Branta canadensis Polar Research Vulpes lagopus Unknown Arctic Canada Polar Research 36 sup1 5 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English |
topic |
Foraging ecology predator–prey interactions food–web/trophic dynamics pulsed resources population dynamics migratory prey envir geo |
spellingShingle |
Foraging ecology predator–prey interactions food–web/trophic dynamics pulsed resources population dynamics migratory prey envir geo Ryan S. McDonald James D. Roth Frank B. Baldwin Goose persistence in fall strongly influences Arctic fox diet, but not reproductive success, in the southern Arctic |
topic_facet |
Foraging ecology predator–prey interactions food–web/trophic dynamics pulsed resources population dynamics migratory prey envir geo |
description |
Food availability is the primary limitation for terrestrial Arctic predators, many of which rely on rodents that fluctuate in abundance over a 3–5-year period. During rodent scarcity, predators such as Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) consume alternative prey, such as migratory birds, which are plentiful during summer. In most of the Arctic these birds return south by August, but in northern Manitoba, near the southern edge of the Arctic fox distribution, large numbers of lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) and Canada geese (Branta canadensis interior) persist into October. This extended availability of geese late into fall may reduce the dependence of Arctic foxes on rodents. We used stable isotope and faecal analyses to reconstruct the Arctic fox fall and winter diet and related the most probable contributions of lemmings, goose eggs and juvenile geese with changes in prey availability and fox reproduction. Geese were a potentially important component of the fall diet for Arctic foxes, especially in years with high goose productivity, but rodents were the main component of the diet in late winter, even though rodents were scarce each summer (2010–2013). Furthermore, rodent density had a greater influence on Arctic fox reproduction, which was correlated with the subsequent winter harvest, than any other variable examined. Although geese were important fall prey for Arctic foxes at the southern edge of their distribution, they did not buffer declines in availability of rodents, which were the primary prey in April when food availability is critical for Arctic fox reproduction. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ryan S. McDonald James D. Roth Frank B. Baldwin |
author_facet |
Ryan S. McDonald James D. Roth Frank B. Baldwin |
author_sort |
Ryan S. McDonald |
title |
Goose persistence in fall strongly influences Arctic fox diet, but not reproductive success, in the southern Arctic |
title_short |
Goose persistence in fall strongly influences Arctic fox diet, but not reproductive success, in the southern Arctic |
title_full |
Goose persistence in fall strongly influences Arctic fox diet, but not reproductive success, in the southern Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Goose persistence in fall strongly influences Arctic fox diet, but not reproductive success, in the southern Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Goose persistence in fall strongly influences Arctic fox diet, but not reproductive success, in the southern Arctic |
title_sort |
goose persistence in fall strongly influences arctic fox diet, but not reproductive success, in the southern arctic |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2017.1324652 https://doaj.org/article/7c777188865241ceb73e8d6aa546a05d |
geographic |
Arctic Canada |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada |
genre |
Arctic Fox Arctic Branta canadensis Polar Research Vulpes lagopus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Fox Arctic Branta canadensis Polar Research Vulpes lagopus |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 36, Iss 0 (2017) |
op_relation |
1751-8369 doi:10.1080/17518369.2017.1324652 https://doaj.org/article/7c777188865241ceb73e8d6aa546a05d |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2017.1324652 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
36 |
container_issue |
sup1 |
container_start_page |
5 |
_version_ |
1766304791598727168 |