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 the first exhaustive survey of contemporary Arctic fox monitoring programmes, describing 34 projects located in eight countries. Monitored populations covered equally the four climate zones of the species' distribution, and there were large differences between populations in long-term trends, multi-annual fluctuations, diet composition, degree of competition with red fox and human interferences. Den density, number of active dens, number of breeding dens and litter size were assessed in almost all populations, while projects varied greatly with respect to monitoring of other variables indicative of population status, ecosystem state or ecosystem function. We review the benefits, opportunities and challenges to increased integration of monitoring projects. We argue that better harmonizing protocols of data collection and data management would allow new questions to be addressed while adding tremendous value to individual projects. However, despite many opportunities, challenges remain. We offer six recommendations that represent decisive progress toward a better integration of Arctic fox monitoring projects. Further, our work serves as a template that can be used to integrate monitoring efforts of other species, thereby providing a key step for future assessments of global biodiversity.

Small rodents with multi-annual population cycles strongly influence the dynamics of food webs, and in particular predator-prey interactions, across most of the tundra biome. Rodents are however absent from some arctic islands, and studies on performance of arctic predators under such circumstances may be very instructive since rodent cycles have been predicted to collapse in a warming Arctic. Here we document for the first time how three normally rodent-dependent predator species—rough-legged buzzard, arctic fox and red fox – perform in a low-arctic ecosystem with no rodents. During six years (in 2006-2008 and 2011-2013) we studied diet and breeding performance of these predators in the rodent-free Kolguev Island in Arctic Russia. The rough-legged buzzards, previously known to be a small rodent specialist, have only during the last two decades become established on Kolguev Island. The buzzards successfully breed on the island at stable low density, but with high productivity based on goslings and willow ptarmigan as their main prey – altogether representing a novel ecological situation for this species. Breeding density of arctic fox varied from year to year, but with stable productivity based on mainly geese as prey. The density dynamic of the arctic fox appeared to be correlated with the date of spring arrival of the geese. Red foxes breed regularly on the island but in very low numbers that appear to have been unchanged over a long period – a situation that resemble what has been recently documented from Arctic America. Our study suggests that the three predators found breeding on Kolguev Island possess capacities for shifting to changing circumstances in low-arctic ecosystem as long as other small - medium sized terrestrial herbivores are present in good numbers.

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13In different groups of mammals the role of social learning in ontogeny of foraging behaviour is 14 variable. Normally developed foraging skills are necessary for the survival of orphaned cubs, 15 released into the wild after rehabilitation. The development of foraging behaviour in Asiatic 16 black bears (Ursus thibetanus) has been poorly studied, and the role of learning from the mother 17 remains undefined. Here we investigated the ontogeny of three aspects of foraging behaviour 18 (foraging activity, diet composition and food selection) and compared our observations with 19 literature data on wild adult bears. Two observers (including the author) reared three orphaned 20 Asiatic black bear cubs from the age of three to 20 months in a natural environment in the Far 21 East of Russia. We performed ad libitum observations of the cubs' foraging behaviour during 22 daily excursions in the forest, totaling 2000 h of visual observations. The crop of trees and 23 shrubs was estimated visually in grades (0-5) every 10 days. We found that the seasonal 24 dynamics of the cubs' foraging activity correlated with food abundance and their nutritional 25 requirements, allowing fattening for winter survival. The diet composition of the orphaned cubs 26 was species-specific, close to that of wild conspecifics, although showing age-related and 27 geographical specificity. The cubs assessed the edibility of foods via taste and olfaction 28 analyzers, trying various food items and selecting those consumed by wild bears. We conclude 29 that in the ontogeny of Asiatic black bear foraging behaviour, the seasonal dynamics of diet 30 composition and foraging activity are based on inborn mechanisms, while food preferences 31 develop through trial and error, i.e. individual learning. Therefore, we discovered that Asiatic 32 black bear orphaned cubs, grown in a natural environment under the limited care of two 33 *Manuscript