Terrain Features and Architecture of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Resting Burrows and Reproductive Dens on Arctic Tundra
Burrowing species rely on subterranean and subnivean sites to fulfill important life-history and behavioral processes, including predator avoidance, thermoregulation, resting, and reproduction. For these species, burrow architecture can affect the quality and success of such processes, since charact...
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The Arctic Institute of North America
2022
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ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/75576 2023-05-15T14:19:02+02:00 Terrain Features and Architecture of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Resting Burrows and Reproductive Dens on Arctic Tundra Glass, Thomas W. Breed, Greg A. Laird, Cristina R. Magoun, Audrey J. Robards, Martin D. Williams, Cory T. Kielland, Knut 2022-09-11 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/75576 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/75576/56119 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/75576 Copyright (c) 2022 ARCTIC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY ARCTIC; Vol. 75 No. 3 (2022): SEPTEMBER 291-397; 291-299 1923-1245 0004-0843 burrow Gulo gulo reproductive den resting site river shelf ice snow subnivean wolverine info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 2022 ftunivcalgaryojs 2022-09-18T17:31:13Z Burrowing species rely on subterranean and subnivean sites to fulfill important life-history and behavioral processes, including predator avoidance, thermoregulation, resting, and reproduction. For these species, burrow architecture can affect the quality and success of such processes, since characteristics like tunnel width and chamber depth influence access by predators, thermal insulation, and energy spent digging. Wolverines (Gulo gulo) living in Arctic tundra environments dig burrows in snow during winter for resting sites and reproductive dens, but there are few published descriptions of such burrows. We visited 114 resting burrows and describe associated architectural characteristics and non-snow structure. Additionally, we describe characteristics of 15 reproductive den sites that we visited during winter and summer. Although many resting burrows were solely excavated in snow, most incorporated terrain structures including cliffs, talus, river shelf ice, thermokarst caves, and stream cutbanks. Burrows typically consisted of a single tunnel leading to a single chamber, though some burrows had multiple entrances, branching tunnels, or both. Tunnels in resting burrows were shorter than those in reproductive dens, and resting chambers were typically located at the deepest part of the burrow. Reproductive dens were associated with snowdrift-forming terrain features such as streambeds, cutbanks on lake edges, thermokarst caves, and boulders. Understanding such characteristics of Arctic wolverine resting and reproductive structures is critical for assessing anthropogenic impacts as snowpack undergoes climate-driven shifts. Les espèces fouisseuses dépendent de lieux enfouis sous la terre et sous la neige pour satisfaire leurs importants processus de vie et de comportement, y compris l’évitement des prédateurs, la thermorégulation, le repos et la reproduction. Pour ces espèces, l’architecture des terriers peut avoir des effets sur la qualité et la réussite des processus, car des caractéristiques comme la ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Gulo gulo Thermokarst Tundra University of Calgary Journal Hosting Arctic Burrows ENVELOPE(163.650,163.650,-74.300,-74.300) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgaryojs |
language |
English |
topic |
burrow Gulo gulo reproductive den resting site river shelf ice snow subnivean wolverine |
spellingShingle |
burrow Gulo gulo reproductive den resting site river shelf ice snow subnivean wolverine Glass, Thomas W. Breed, Greg A. Laird, Cristina R. Magoun, Audrey J. Robards, Martin D. Williams, Cory T. Kielland, Knut Terrain Features and Architecture of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Resting Burrows and Reproductive Dens on Arctic Tundra |
topic_facet |
burrow Gulo gulo reproductive den resting site river shelf ice snow subnivean wolverine |
description |
Burrowing species rely on subterranean and subnivean sites to fulfill important life-history and behavioral processes, including predator avoidance, thermoregulation, resting, and reproduction. For these species, burrow architecture can affect the quality and success of such processes, since characteristics like tunnel width and chamber depth influence access by predators, thermal insulation, and energy spent digging. Wolverines (Gulo gulo) living in Arctic tundra environments dig burrows in snow during winter for resting sites and reproductive dens, but there are few published descriptions of such burrows. We visited 114 resting burrows and describe associated architectural characteristics and non-snow structure. Additionally, we describe characteristics of 15 reproductive den sites that we visited during winter and summer. Although many resting burrows were solely excavated in snow, most incorporated terrain structures including cliffs, talus, river shelf ice, thermokarst caves, and stream cutbanks. Burrows typically consisted of a single tunnel leading to a single chamber, though some burrows had multiple entrances, branching tunnels, or both. Tunnels in resting burrows were shorter than those in reproductive dens, and resting chambers were typically located at the deepest part of the burrow. Reproductive dens were associated with snowdrift-forming terrain features such as streambeds, cutbanks on lake edges, thermokarst caves, and boulders. Understanding such characteristics of Arctic wolverine resting and reproductive structures is critical for assessing anthropogenic impacts as snowpack undergoes climate-driven shifts. Les espèces fouisseuses dépendent de lieux enfouis sous la terre et sous la neige pour satisfaire leurs importants processus de vie et de comportement, y compris l’évitement des prédateurs, la thermorégulation, le repos et la reproduction. Pour ces espèces, l’architecture des terriers peut avoir des effets sur la qualité et la réussite des processus, car des caractéristiques comme la ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Glass, Thomas W. Breed, Greg A. Laird, Cristina R. Magoun, Audrey J. Robards, Martin D. Williams, Cory T. Kielland, Knut |
author_facet |
Glass, Thomas W. Breed, Greg A. Laird, Cristina R. Magoun, Audrey J. Robards, Martin D. Williams, Cory T. Kielland, Knut |
author_sort |
Glass, Thomas W. |
title |
Terrain Features and Architecture of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Resting Burrows and Reproductive Dens on Arctic Tundra |
title_short |
Terrain Features and Architecture of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Resting Burrows and Reproductive Dens on Arctic Tundra |
title_full |
Terrain Features and Architecture of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Resting Burrows and Reproductive Dens on Arctic Tundra |
title_fullStr |
Terrain Features and Architecture of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Resting Burrows and Reproductive Dens on Arctic Tundra |
title_full_unstemmed |
Terrain Features and Architecture of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Resting Burrows and Reproductive Dens on Arctic Tundra |
title_sort |
terrain features and architecture of wolverine (gulo gulo) resting burrows and reproductive dens on arctic tundra |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/75576 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(163.650,163.650,-74.300,-74.300) |
geographic |
Arctic Burrows |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Burrows |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Gulo gulo Thermokarst Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Gulo gulo Thermokarst Tundra |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 75 No. 3 (2022): SEPTEMBER 291-397; 291-299 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/75576/56119 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/75576 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2022 ARCTIC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
_version_ |
1766290578558943232 |