Fox and lemming responses to climate and snow conditions at the Arctic’s edge

• Main Author: Verstege, Jacqueline
• Other Authors: Roth, James (Biological Sciences), Markham, John (Biological Sciences) Fishback, LeeAnn (Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources)
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Arctic fox; ecosystem engineer; trophic interactions; Arctic; Arctic Fox; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/31976

Low species diversity in the Arctic promotes strong food-web linkages, as changes in abundance of one species may influence many others. Using harvest records, I determined Arctic fox populations are declining in their southern distributional range due to shallower snow potentially limiting density of lemmings, their primary prey, which live and breed beneath snow. Additionally, warm fall and spring temperatures are shortening access to alternative prey, seals on sea ice. Arctic foxes also influence other species through non-trophic interactions, as lemming winter nests were found on 70% of fox dens examined. I determined warmer subnivean temperatures promoted by accumulation of thick snow leeward of tall vegetation on dens attracted lemmings to these dens. Furthermore, lemming reproduction was higher dens compared to traditional lemming habitat. This research highlights the impact of climatic variables on Arctic predator-prey interactions and the importance of understanding impacts of trophic and non-trophic interactions on species demographics. February 2017