Goose persistence in fall strongly influences Arctic fox diet, but not reproductive success, in the southern Arctic

Polar research

James D. Roth¹  Ryan S. McDonald²  Frank B. Baldwin³ 

[1] Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, CanadaCorrespondence;Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, CanadaView further author information;Manitoba Department of Sustainable Development, Winnipeg, CanadaView further author information

关键词: Foraging ecology;    predator–prey interactions;    food–web/trophic dynamics;    pulsed resources;    population dynamics;    migratory prey;    ANOVA: analysis of variance;    HSD: honest significant difference test;    MANOVA: multi-variate analysis of variance;    SD: standard deviation;    SIAR: stable isotope analysis in R software;   

DOI  :  10.1080/17518369.2017.1324652

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

来源: Co-Action Publishing

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACTFood 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 foxe...

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC