Elevational range shifts in four mountain ungulate species from the Swiss Alps

Ulf Büntgen,Atle Mysterud,Carrie Andrew,J Diego Galván,Hannes Jenny,Nils C Stenseth,Lucie Greuter,Andrew Liebhold,Kurt Bollmann

doi:10.1002/ecs2.1761

Abstract

AbstractWarming‐induced range shifts along elevational and latitudinal gradients have been observed in several species from various taxa. The mobility and behavioral plasticity of large endothermic mammals, however, complicate the detection of climatic effects on their spatial distributions. Here, we analyzed 230,565 hunting locations of the four most abundant ungulate species in the European Alps: ibex, chamois, red deer, and roe deer. Year‐to‐year and inter‐decadal range shifts toward higher elevations in Switzerland coincided with warmer, snow‐free, and thus more favorable autumn conditions in the same area. The average harvest elevation of ibex, chamois, and red deer significantly increased between 1991 and 2013. Although this trend is anticipated to continue, behavioral plasticity may allow the Alpine ibex and other mountain ungulates to buffer some of the associated consequences of climate change. Our results demonstrate the utility of well‐replicated hunting archives to supplement shorter but more precise monitoring data. This study also provides independent evidence of animal range shifts in response to environmental change at interannual and multi‐decadal time‐scales.

Highlights

Climate-induced elevational and latitudinal range shifts have been reported for many plant and animal species around the world (Parmesan and Yohe 2003, Thomas et al 2004, Lenoir et al 2008, Harsch et al 2009, Chen et al 2011, Gottfried et al 2012, Pauli et al 2012)
Range shifts observed in alpine and arctic ecosystems have mainly been toward higher elevations and latitudes (Parmesan and Yohe 2003, Thomas et al 2004, Lenoir et al 2008, Harsch et al 2009, Post et al 2009, Johnson et al 2010, Chen et al 2011, Gottfried et al 2012, Pauli et al 2012), these changes tend to be complex and difficult to explain from a single factor alone (Parmesan 2006, Mason et al 2014)
Ibex were mainly harvested at high elevations, whereas the three other ungulate species were generally hunted at lower elevations (Fig. 1b)

Summary

Introduction

Climate-induced elevational and latitudinal range shifts have been reported for many plant and animal species around the world (Parmesan and Yohe 2003, Thomas et al 2004, Lenoir et al 2008, Harsch et al 2009, Chen et al 2011, Gottfried et al 2012, Pauli et al 2012). Range shifts observed in alpine and arctic ecosystems have mainly been toward higher elevations and latitudes (Parmesan and Yohe 2003, Thomas et al 2004, Lenoir et al 2008, Harsch et al 2009, Post et al 2009, Johnson et al 2010, Chen et al 2011, Gottfried et al 2012, Pauli et al 2012), these changes tend to be complex and difficult to explain from a single factor alone (Parmesan 2006, Mason et al 2014). Several niche-related habitat features may modulate range shifts; these include, for instance, forage abundance, availability, and accessibility (Larter and Gates 1994, McLoughlin and Ferguson 2000, Nilsen et al 2005, Schradin et al 2010, van Beest et al 2011), landscape structure (Tufto et al 1996, Anderson et al 2005, Lamberti et al 2006), seasonality (McLoughlin et al 2000), predator abundance (Creel et al 2005), hunting intensity (Vercauteren and Hyngstrom 1998, Scillitani et al 2010, Ciuti et al 2012), as well as combinations of these factors (Borger et al 2006, Bolger et al 2008)

Methods

Results

Conclusion