Mortality rates of the Alpine Chamois : the influence of snow-meteorological factors
Especially for animals inhabiting alpine areas, winter environmental conditions can be limiting. Cold temperatures, hampered food availability and natural perils are just three of many potential threats that mountain ungulates face in winter. Understanding their sensitivity to climate variability is...
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Online Access: | https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/mortality-rates-of-the-alpine-chamois-the-influence-of-snow-meteo https://doi.org/10.3189/172756408787814735 |
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ftunivwagenin:oai:library.wur.nl:wurpubs/374554 2024-02-04T09:53:01+01:00 Mortality rates of the Alpine Chamois : the influence of snow-meteorological factors Jonas, T. Geiger, F. Jenny, H. 2008 application/pdf https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/mortality-rates-of-the-alpine-chamois-the-influence-of-snow-meteo https://doi.org/10.3189/172756408787814735 en eng https://edepot.wur.nl/31501 https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/mortality-rates-of-the-alpine-chamois-the-influence-of-snow-meteo doi:10.3189/172756408787814735 info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Wageningen University & Research Annals of Glaciology 49 (2008) ISSN: 0260-3055 availability body-mass energy expenditures precipitation red deer rupicapra-pyrenaica scale survival switzerland winter info:eu-repo/semantics/article Article/Letter to editor info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2008 ftunivwagenin https://doi.org/10.3189/172756408787814735 2024-01-10T23:24:08Z Especially for animals inhabiting alpine areas, winter environmental conditions can be limiting. Cold temperatures, hampered food availability and natural perils are just three of many potential threats that mountain ungulates face in winter. Understanding their sensitivity to climate variability is essential for game management. Here we focus on analyzing the influence of snow and weather conditions on the mortality pattern of Alpine chamois. Our mortality data are derived from a systematic assessment of 6,500 chamois that died of natural causes over the course of 13 years. We use population- and habitat-specific data on snow, climate and avalanche danger to identify the key environmental factors that essentially determine the spatio-temporal variations in chamois mortality. Initially, we show that most fatalities occurred in winter, with a peak around March, when typically snow depths were highest. Death causes related to poor general conditions were the major component of seasonal variations. As for the interannual variations in mortality, snow depth and avalanche risk best explained the occurrence of winters with increased numbers of fatalities. Finally, analyzing differences in mortality rates between populations, we identified sun-exposed winter habitats with little snow accumulation as favourable for alpine chamois. Article in Journal/Newspaper Annals of Glaciology Wageningen UR (University & Research Centre): Digital Library Annals of Glaciology 49 56 62 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wageningen UR (University & Research Centre): Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwagenin |
language |
English |
topic |
availability body-mass energy expenditures precipitation red deer rupicapra-pyrenaica scale survival switzerland winter |
spellingShingle |
availability body-mass energy expenditures precipitation red deer rupicapra-pyrenaica scale survival switzerland winter Jonas, T. Geiger, F. Jenny, H. Mortality rates of the Alpine Chamois : the influence of snow-meteorological factors |
topic_facet |
availability body-mass energy expenditures precipitation red deer rupicapra-pyrenaica scale survival switzerland winter |
description |
Especially for animals inhabiting alpine areas, winter environmental conditions can be limiting. Cold temperatures, hampered food availability and natural perils are just three of many potential threats that mountain ungulates face in winter. Understanding their sensitivity to climate variability is essential for game management. Here we focus on analyzing the influence of snow and weather conditions on the mortality pattern of Alpine chamois. Our mortality data are derived from a systematic assessment of 6,500 chamois that died of natural causes over the course of 13 years. We use population- and habitat-specific data on snow, climate and avalanche danger to identify the key environmental factors that essentially determine the spatio-temporal variations in chamois mortality. Initially, we show that most fatalities occurred in winter, with a peak around March, when typically snow depths were highest. Death causes related to poor general conditions were the major component of seasonal variations. As for the interannual variations in mortality, snow depth and avalanche risk best explained the occurrence of winters with increased numbers of fatalities. Finally, analyzing differences in mortality rates between populations, we identified sun-exposed winter habitats with little snow accumulation as favourable for alpine chamois. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jonas, T. Geiger, F. Jenny, H. |
author_facet |
Jonas, T. Geiger, F. Jenny, H. |
author_sort |
Jonas, T. |
title |
Mortality rates of the Alpine Chamois : the influence of snow-meteorological factors |
title_short |
Mortality rates of the Alpine Chamois : the influence of snow-meteorological factors |
title_full |
Mortality rates of the Alpine Chamois : the influence of snow-meteorological factors |
title_fullStr |
Mortality rates of the Alpine Chamois : the influence of snow-meteorological factors |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mortality rates of the Alpine Chamois : the influence of snow-meteorological factors |
title_sort |
mortality rates of the alpine chamois : the influence of snow-meteorological factors |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/mortality-rates-of-the-alpine-chamois-the-influence-of-snow-meteo https://doi.org/10.3189/172756408787814735 |
genre |
Annals of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Annals of Glaciology |
op_source |
Annals of Glaciology 49 (2008) ISSN: 0260-3055 |
op_relation |
https://edepot.wur.nl/31501 https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/mortality-rates-of-the-alpine-chamois-the-influence-of-snow-meteo doi:10.3189/172756408787814735 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Wageningen University & Research |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3189/172756408787814735 |
container_title |
Annals of Glaciology |
container_volume |
49 |
container_start_page |
56 |
op_container_end_page |
62 |
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1789963744788348928 |