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Harmonizing circumpolar monitoring of Arctic fox: benefits, opportunities, challenges and recommendations
(Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2017-08-16)
The biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council has developed pan-Arctic biodiversity
monitoring plans to improve our ability to detect, understand and report on long-term
change in Arctic biodiversity. The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) was identified as a target of
future monitoring because of its circumpolar distribution, ecological importance and reliance
on Arctic ecosystems. We provide ...
Homage to Hersteinsson and Macdonald: climate warming and resource subsidies cause red fox range expansion and Arctic fox decline
(Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2017-08-16)
Climate change can have a marked effect on the distribution and abundance of some
species, as well as their interspecific interactions. In 1992, before ecological effects of
anthropogenic climate change had developed into a topical research field, Hersteinsson
and Macdonald published a seminal paper hypothesizing that the northern distribution
limit of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is determined ...
Under the snow: a new camera trap opens the white box of subnivean ecology
(Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2015-05-14)
Snow covers the ground over large parts of the world for a substantial portion of the year. Yet very few methods are available to quantify biotic variables below the snow, with most studies of subnivean ecological processes relying on comparisons of data before and after the snow cover season. We developed a camera trap prototype to quantify subnivean small mammal activity. The trap consists of a ...
Ecosystem drivers of an Arctic fox population at the western fringe of the Eurasian Arctic
(Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2017-08-16)
The distribution of traditional breeding dens on the Varanger Peninsula (70–71°N) in northernmost
Fennoscandia indicates that this area once harboured a large Arctic fox population.
Early 20th century naturalists regarded the coastal tundra of the Fennoscandian Low Arctic to
be a stronghold for the species. At the start of our research in 2004, however, the local Arctic
fox population was ...
Declining willow ptarmigan populations : the role of habitat structure and community dynamics
(Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2011)
The recent range contractions and population declines of many grouse species worldwide have been attributed to loss and fragmentation of their habitats, although the empirical evidence for the actual drivers is often weak. In case of the willow ptarmigan Lagopus lagopus in Fennoscandia, ungulate overbrowsing of willows has been hypothesized to exert such negative habitat-related impacts. Moreover, ...
Transferability of biotic interactions: temporal consistency of arctic plant-rodent relationships is poor
(Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2018-09-17)
Variability in biotic interaction strength is an integral part of food web functioning.
However, the consequences of the spatial and temporal variability of biotic interactions
are poorly known, in particular for predicting species abundance and distribution.
The amplitude of rodent population cycles (i.e., peak-phase abundances) has
been hypothesized to be determined by vegetation properties ...
Rapid, landscape scale responses in riparian tundra vegetation to exclusion of small and large mammalian herbivores
(Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2011)
Productive tundra plant communities composed of a variety of fast growing herbaceous and woody plants are likely to attract mammalian herbivores. Such vegetation is likely to respond to different-sized herbivores more rapidly than currently acknowledged from the tundra. Accentuated by currently changing populations of arctic mammals there is a need to understand impacts of different-sized herbivores ...
Population dynamics of tundra voles in relation to configuration of willow thickets in southern arctic tundra
(Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2011)
The areal extent and conWguration of thickets of
willow shrubs are currently changing in the Arctic both as an eVect of global warming and changed browsing pressure of reindeer. These changes have been predicted to impact the distribution and abundance of wildlife species relying on willow thickets as habitat. We assessed the relation between variables quantifying willow thicket configuration
and ...
The importance of willow thickets for ptarmigan and hares in shrub tundra : the more the better?
(Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2012)
Shedding new light on the diet of Norwegian lemmings: DNA metabarcoding of stomach content
(Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2013)
Lemmings are key herbivores in many arctic food webs, and their population dynamics have major impacts on the functioning of tundra systems. However, current knowledge of lemming diet is limited, hampering evaluation of lemming–vegetation interactions. This lack of knowledge is mainly due to methodological challenges, as previously used microhistological methods result in large proportions of poorly ...