Arctic fox versus red fox in the warming Arctic: four decades of den surveys in north Yukon

Gallant, Daniel; Slough, Brian G.; Reid, Donald G.; Berteaux, Dominique

doi:10.1007/s00300-012-1181-8

Cited by 52 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Some support for this hypothesis has been obtained in northeastern Norway, where red foxes seem to have replaced Arctic foxes in the most productive denning habitat (Killengreen et al, 2007). In other areas of the Arctic, however, red and Arctic fox populations have been stable over several decades despite pronounced climate warming (Gallant et al, 2012), which indicates that increased primary production did not necessarily favor red foxes. Other evidence suggests that resource subsidies in winter, which are often provided by human activity, have played a decisive role for the growth of red fox populations in tundra areas in northern Fennoscandia (Kaikusalo and Angerbjörn, 1995;Killengreen et al, 2011) and Alaska (Savory et al, 2014;Stickney et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergent Rainy Winter Warm Spells May Promote Boreal Predator Expansion into the Arctic

Sokolov¹,

Sokolova²,

Ims³

et al. 2016

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. Climate change has been characterized as the most serious threat to Arctic biodiversity. In addition to gradual changes such as climate warming, extreme weather events, such as melting temperatures in winter and rain on snow, can have profound consequences for ecosystems. Rain-on-snow events lead to the formation of ice layers in the snow pack, which can restrict access to forage plants and cause crashes of herbivore populations. These direct impacts can have cascading effects on other ecosystem components, often mediated by trophic interactions. Here we document how heavy rain in early winter, leading to the formation of a thick layer of ice, was associated with dramatic mortality of domestic reindeer on Yamal Peninsula, Russia. In the subsequent summer, breeding of two boreal generalist predators, red fox and Hooded Crow, was recorded for the first time in a monitoring area in the Low Arctic tundra of this region. We suggest that the resource pulse created by the abnormally high reindeer mortality and abundance of carrion may have facilitated these breeding events north of the known breeding range of the two species. Our observations provide an example of how specific emergent weather events may indirectly pave the way for more abrupt, although possibly temporary, species range changes.Key words: Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus); red fox (Vulpes vulpes), Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix); domestic reindeer; ground icing; rain on snow; food web; range expansion RÉSUMÉ. Le changement climatique a été caractérisé comme la plus grande menace à la biodiversité de l'Arctique. En plus des changements graduels comme le réchauffement climatique, les phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes comme les températures positives en hiver et la pluie tombant sur la neige peuvent avoir de profondes conséquences sur les écosystèmes. La pluie tombant sur la neige mène à la formation de couches de glace dans le manteau neigeux, ce qui peut avoir pour effet de restreindre l'accès aux plantes fourragères et d'entraîner l'effondrement des populations herbivores. Ces impacts directs peuvent avoir des effets en cascade sur d'autres composantes des écosystèmes, et cette propagation passe souvent par des interactions trophiques. Dans cette communication, nous décrivons comment une pluie abondante en début d'hiver, menant à la formation d'une couche de glace épaisse, a été accompagnée par une mortalité dramatique des rennes domestiques dans la péninsule de Yamal, en Russie. L'été suivant, la reproduction de deux prédateurs boréaux généralistes, soit celui du renard roux et celui de la corneille mantelée, a été enregistrée pour la première fois dans une aire d'étude de la toundra du Bas-Arctique de cette région. Nous suggérons que l'abondance de ressources créée par le taux de mortalité anormalement élevé de rennes et l'abondance de charognes aurait pu susciter ces épisodes de reproduction au nord de l'aire de répartition connue des deux espèces. Nos observations fournissent un exemple selon lequel des phénomènes météorologiques émergents partic...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergent Rainy Winter Warm Spells May Promote Boreal Predator Expansion into the Arctic

Sokolov¹,

Sokolova²,

Ims³

et al. 2016

ARCTIC

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“…As this prey base could potentially include animals that are less preferred by Arctic foxes or larger than they can easily capture, the red fox would gain a competitive advantage. However, the review by Gallant et al (2012) of 40 years of fox surveys, in a northern Yukon region with few anthropogenic sources of food, found that although red foxes were present, they had not been able to exclude the still dominant Arctic fox. The authors suggested that climate change had not yet overcome the effect of food limitation on foxes in their study area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within the last century, the range of the Arctic fox has contracted while that of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) has expanded northward (Gallant et al, 2012). There is limited information about when the contraction began in different regions, although MacPherson (1964) reported red foxes on Baffin Island in Canada in 1918.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is limited information about when the contraction began in different regions, although MacPherson (1964) reported red foxes on Baffin Island in Canada in 1918. However, within the last 30 years, the contraction of the Arctic fox's range has been extensive enough in the subarctic alpine tundra in Fennoscandia to prompt concern (Hersteinsson et al, 1989;Frafjord, 2003;Herfindal et al, 2010) and to instigate an analysis of the geographical changes across Arctic Canada (Hersteinsson and Macdonald, 1992;Gallant et al, 2012). In both regions, the shifts in distribution of the two fox species have since been considered as part of a suite of physical and biological alterations related to both climate change and increased human activity (Hersteinsson and Macdonald, 1992;Walther et al, 2002;Fuglei and Ims, 2008;Post et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifts in Fox Den Occupancy in the Greater Prudhoe Bay Area, Alaska

Stickney¹,

Obritschkewitsch²,

Burgess³

2014

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. Although shifts in the distribution of red foxes into areas previously dominated by Arctic foxes have been documented over wide areas of the circumpolar North, no such documentation exists yet for the Alaskan Arctic. Fox research in the greater Prudhoe Bay area from the 1970s through the early 1990s focused primarily on Arctic foxes in relation to oil development because red foxes were uncommon. A monitoring program in 2005 -12 included annual surveys of 31 -48 fox dens within 2 km of the road system. In 2005, 2006, and 2008, Arctic fox dens outnumbered those of red foxes, but from 2010 onward, the reverse was true. There is greater distance between natal dens of Arctic foxes and those of red foxes than between natal dens within each species, suggesting that Arctic foxes avoid red fox denning territories. Of dens in our study that were used by Arctic foxes prior to 2005, 50% have since been occupied by red foxes. Red foxes displaced Arctic foxes from dens closest to oil field camps, pads, and other facilities, and preyed on their pups. Access to anthropogenic food sources probably supports red foxes in the area. Predictions from climate change studies indicate the displacement of Arctic foxes by red foxes will continue in the Alaskan Arctic, although the change may be slower away from areas of human occupation and anthropogenic foods.Key words: Arctic fox, red fox, den occupancy, interference competition, anthropogenic food sources, climate change RÉSUMÉ. Malgré que des changements sur le plan de la répartition du renard roux dans des régions qui étaient auparavant dominées par le renard arctique aient été répertoriés dans une grande partie du Nord circumpolaire, ce n'est pas encore le cas de l'Arctique alaskien. L'étude des renards de la grande région de la baie Prudhoe, des années 1970 jusqu'au début des années 1990, portait principalement sur le renard arctique dans le cadre de la mise en valeur du pétrole, car le renard roux n'était pas courant à ce moment-là. Un programme de surveillance mené à bien de 2005 à 2012 a notamment pris la forme de dénombrements annuels de 31 à 48 tanières de renards dans un rayon de deux kilomètres du réseau routier. En 2005, en 2006 et en 2008, le nombre de tanières de renards arctiques dépassait le nombre de tanières de renards roux, mais à partir de 2010, c'était l'inverse. La distance qui sépare les tanières de mise bas des renards arctiques de celles des renards roux est plus grande que la distance qui sépare les tanières de mise bas au sein de chacune des espèces, ce qui laisse entendre que le renard arctique évite les territoires de mise bas du renard roux. Parmi les tanières visées par notre étude qui étaient utilisées par les renards arctiques avant 2005, 50 % d'entre elles sont depuis occupées par des renards roux. Les renards roux ont supplanté les renards arctiques qui occupaient les tanières situées plus près des campements de champs pétrolifères, des zones tampons et d'autres installations, et ils ont attaqué leurs petits. L'accès aux sources alimentaires...

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“…It preys on a wide range of animal species and feed opportunistically on food resources such as berries and human garbage (Hartova-Nentvichova et al 2010;Rosalino et al 2010;Dell'Arte et al 2007). The red fox occupies highly contrasting habitats (Lariviere and Pasitschniak-Arts 1996), and its distribution and abundance is determined to a large extent by food availability (Barton and Zalewski 2007;Rosalino et al 2010;Gallant et al 2012). In Scandinavia, the main prey of the red fox is microtine rodents (Lindström 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal variation in the distribution and abundance of red foxes in the tundra and taiga of northern Sweden

Carricondo‐Sanchez¹,

Samelius

Odden³

et al. 2016

Eur J Wildl Res

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Arctic fox versus red fox in the warming Arctic: four decades of den surveys in north Yukon

Cited by 52 publications

References 66 publications

Emergent Rainy Winter Warm Spells May Promote Boreal Predator Expansion into the Arctic

Emergent Rainy Winter Warm Spells May Promote Boreal Predator Expansion into the Arctic

Shifts in Fox Den Occupancy in the Greater Prudhoe Bay Area, Alaska

Spatial and temporal variation in the distribution and abundance of red foxes in the tundra and taiga of northern Sweden

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