Snow physical properties may be a significant determinant of lemming population dynamics in the high Arctic

Arctic Science

article

Florent Domine¹  Gilles Gauthier¹  Vincent Vionnet⁶  Dominique Fauteux¹  Marie Dumont^1,10  Mathieu Barrere¹ 

[1] Centre d’études nordiques, Université Laval;Department of Chemistry, Université Laval;Department of Geography, Université Laval;Takuvik Joint International Laboratory, Université Laval (Canada) and CNRS-INSU (France);Department of Biology, Université Laval;Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Université de Toulouse;CNRS, CNRM, Centre d’Études de la Neige;Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan;Canadian Museum of Nature;Université de Toulouse, Centre d’Études de la Neige

关键词: lemming;    population dynamics;    snow;    high Arctic;    climate.;   

DOI  :  10.1139/as-2018-0008

学科分类：地球科学(综合)

来源: NRC Research Press

【 摘 要 】

Cyclic population fluctuations are common in boreal and Arctic species but the causes of these cycles are still debated today. Among these species, lemmings are Arctic rodents that live and reproduce under the snow and whose large cyclical population fluctuations in the high Arctic impact the whole tundra food web. We explore, using lemming population data and snow modeling, whether the hardness of the basal layer of the snowpack, determined by rain-on-snow events (ROS) and wind storms in autumn, can affect brown lemming population dynamics in the Canadian high Arctic. Using a 7-year dataset collected on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada over the period 2003–2014, we demonstrate that liquid water input to snow is strongly inversely related with winter population growth ( R 2  ≥ 0.62) and to a lesser extent to lemming summer densities and winter nest densities ( R 2  = 0.29–0.39). ROS in autumn can therefore influence the amplitude of brown lemming population fluctuations. Increase in ROS events with climate warming should strongly impact the populations of lemmings and consequently those of the many predators that depend upon them. Snow conditions may be a key factor influencing the cyclic dynamics of Arctic animal populations.

【 授权许可】

CC BY