Cooperative pastoral production — the importance of kinship

Næss, Marius Warg; Bårdsen, Bård‐Jørgen; Fauchald, Per; Tveraa, Torkild

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.12.004

Cited by 25 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The positive relationship between pre- and post-collapse herd size indicates that herd accumulation is a rational response to environment-induced catastrophes, and provides the rationale for why both reindeer herders [29], [31] and pastoralists in general [39] invest labour to increase herd size. Nevertheless, herd accumulation may also stem from cultural values: e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From a risk perspective, the best long-term strategy may thus be to invest in livestock body mass and not herd size. Næss et al [29] hypothesised that one reason for why this strategy is not utilised by herders is because of competition for access to common winter pastures since access is to a large degree determined by herd size. Herd accumulation, through e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The siida is a cooperative unit composed of one or more reindeer management families organized on the basis of kinship joined together in social and labour communities for keeping control of herds of reindeer through herding. A district is a formal management unit with responsibility to provide the Norwegian Reindeer Husbandry Administration with information as well as ensuring that the reindeer husbandry is managed in accordance with governmental regulations [18], [29], [30], [31].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This dataset contains data on herd size (total number of reindeer in the spring per husbandry unit), covering the period 1998–2008 with data from 20 reindeer husbandry summer districts. Data pertaining to herd size are based on counts made by herders that are regularly checked by the authorities (for more details pertaining to dataset and design, see [18], [29], [36]). The utilized dataset contains the following variables:…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Why Herd Size Matters – Mitigating the Effects of Livestock Crashes

Næss

Bårdsen

2013

PLoS ONE

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Analysing the effect of pastoral risk management strategies provides insights into a system of subsistence that have persevered in marginal areas for hundreds to thousands of years and may shed light into the future of around 200 million households in the face of climate change. This study investigated the efficiency of herd accumulation as a buffer strategy by analysing changes in livestock holdings during an environmental crisis in the Saami reindeer husbandry in Norway. We found a positive relationship between: (1) pre- and post-collapse herd size; and (2) pre-collapse herd size and the number of animals lost during the collapse, indicating that herd accumulation is an effective but costly strategy. Policies that fail to incorporate the risk-beneficial aspect of herd accumulation will have a limited effect and may indeed fail entirely. In the context of climate change, official policies that incorporate pastoral risk management strategies may be the only solution for ensuring their continued existence.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Why Herd Size Matters – Mitigating the Effects of Livestock Crashes

Næss

Bårdsen

2013

PLoS ONE

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“…Fragmentation and restricted mobility might also interfere with cooperative networks, which are important for continued viability in reindeer husbandry (Næss et al 2010; Næss 2012). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smaller Saami Herding Groups Cooperate More in a Public Goods Experiment

et al. 2016

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Risk‐sensitive reproductive allocation: fitness consequences of body mass losses in two contrasting environments

Bårdsen

Næss

Tveraa

et al. 2014

Ecology and Evolution

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For long-lived organisms, the fitness value of survival is greater than that of current reproduction. Asymmetric fitness rewards suggest that organisms inhabiting unpredictable environments should adopt a risk-sensitive life history, predicting that it is adaptive to allocate resources to increase their own body reserves at the expense of reproduction. We tested this using data from reindeer populations inhabiting contrasting environments and using winter body mass development as a proxy for the combined effect of winter severity and density dependence. Individuals in good and harsh environments responded similarly: Females who lost large amounts of winter body mass gained more body mass the coming summer compared with females losing less mass during winter. Additionally, females experienced a cost of reproduction: On average, barren females gained more body mass than lactating females. Winter body mass development positively affected both the females' reproductive success and offspring body mass. Finally, we discuss the relevance of our findings with respect to scenarios for future climate change.

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Cooperative pastoral production — the importance of kinship

Cited by 25 publications

References 40 publications

Why Herd Size Matters – Mitigating the Effects of Livestock Crashes

Why Herd Size Matters – Mitigating the Effects of Livestock Crashes

Smaller Saami Herding Groups Cooperate More in a Public Goods Experiment

Risk‐sensitive reproductive allocation: fitness consequences of body mass losses in two contrasting environments

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