Semi-domesticated Reindeer Rangifer Tarandus Research Articles

The role of predation and food limitation on claims for compensation, reindeer demography and population dynamics.

Summary A major challenge in biodiversity conservation is to facilitate viable populations of large apex predators in ecosystems where they were recently driven to ecological extinction due to resource conflict with humans.Monetary compensation for losses of livestock due to predation is currently a key instrument to encourage human–carnivore coexistence. However, a lack of quantitative estimates of livestock losses due to predation leads to disagreement over the practice of compensation payments. This disagreement sustains the human–carnivore conflict.The level of depredation on year‐round, free‐ranging, semi‐domestic reindeer by large carnivores in Fennoscandia has been widely debated over several decades. In Norway, the reindeer herders claim that lynx and wolverine cause losses of tens of thousands of animals annually and cause negative population growth in herds. Conversely, previous research has suggested that monetary predator compensation can result in positive population growth in the husbandry, with cascading negative effects of high grazer densities on the biodiversity in tundra ecosystems.We utilized a long‐term, large‐scale data set to estimate the relative importance of lynx and wolverine predation and density‐dependent and climatic food limitation on claims for losses, recruitment and population growth rates in Norwegian reindeer husbandry.Claims of losses increased with increasing predator densities, but with no detectable effect on population growth rates. Density‐dependent and climatic effects on claims of losses, recruitment and population growth rates were much stronger than the effects of variation in lynx and wolverine densities. Synthesis and applications. Our analysis provides a quantitative basis for predator compensation and estimation of the costs of reintroducing lynx and wolverine in areas with free‐ranging semi‐domestic reindeer. We outline a potential path for conflict management which involves adaptive monitoring programmes, open access to data, herder involvement and development of management strategy evaluation (MSE) models to disentangle complex responses including multiple stakeholders and individual harvester decisions.

Allosuckling in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus): Milk-theft, mismothering or kin selection?

Allosuckling, the suckling of offspring from females other than their own mother, has been reported in a number of mammalian species, including reindeer. The causes and function of this behaviour are still being investigated. We monitored 25 doe-calf pairs of semi-domestic reindeer Rangifer tarandus over 10 weeks to test three allosuckling/allonursing hypotheses: (1) milk theft, calves opportunistically allosuckle; (2) mismothering, misdirected maternal care; and (3) kin-selected allonursing. A calf soliciting an allosuckling bout was categorized as non-filial (NF), and a calf soliciting a suckling bout from its mother was categorized as filial (F). We recorded 9757 solicitations, of which 5176 were successful F bouts and 1389 were successful NF bouts. The rejection rates were greater for NF than F calves. The proportions of antiparallel positions adopted were greater for F than NF calves. The odds of an allobout were lower for calves arriving 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th than for those arriving 2nd, but the odds did not vary with position adopted and relatedness. Our results provided support to the milk-theft hypothesis, whereas limited support for the mismothering hypothesis was found. Our results did not support the hypothesized kin selection function of allosuckling in reindeer.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: insert SI title.

Kleptoparasitism of a Coyote (Canis latrans) by a Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) in Northwestern Canada

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Predation by golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos on semi-domesticated reindeer Rangifer tarandus calves in northeastern Finnish Lapland

Calf losses are an acute issue in Fennoscandian reindeer Rangifer t. tarandus management. We studied calf mortality in northeastern Finnish Lapland using 621 calves (304 in 1997 and 317 in 1998) marked with silent mortality transmitters and followed their survival during 2 July 1997 - 31 January 1998 and during 22 June 1998 - 31 January 1999. In total, we found 43 dead calves and investigated their causes of death. A Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated 91.5% survival during July–January in both study years. However, differences in the temporal distribution of survival between the two study years were found. A minimum of 53% of total mortality was attributed to predation, with golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos being the main predator. Mortality caused by golden eagle comprised 2.8 and 4.2% during the study periods in 1997/98 and 1998/99, respectively. Body weight of the calves at midsummer (all weights adjusted on 2 July) was a significant predictor for survival, whereas sex and pelt colour were not. We conclude that predation is a major source of calf mortality during July–January, and that golden eagle predation was prominent, especially during midsummer and in open alpine landscapes.

Impact of infrastructure on habitat selection of wolverines Gulo gulo

Abstract Compared to the other northern large carnivores, wolverines Gulo gulo are thought to be the most sensitive species with regard to habitat changes and human disturbance. Nowadays wolverines in Scandinavia are found in remote high alpine areas, and we investigated whether human development through presence of infrastructure has relegated them to these areas. We analysed wolverine habitat selection and the impact of infrastructure in two study areas in Norway using compositional analysis. We found that alpine tundra with low human development was important for wolverines to locate their home ranges. Human development formed a more important factor for home range location than did habitat, because habitat selectivity was much higher in undeveloped habitats than in developed habitats. Within their home ranges, wolverines used alpine shrubland and forest, irrespective of human development. The sympatric distribution of wolverines with wild and semi-domestic reindeer Rangifer tarandus indicates that wol...

Does the spatiotemporal distribution of livestock influence forage patch selection in Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx?

Depredation on livestock is one of the main conflicts associated with Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx conservation in Norway. Our study investigates how Eurasian lynx utilise high-density patches of free-ranging and unguarded livestock (domestic sheep Ovis aries and semi-domestic reindeer Rangifer tarandus) as compared to patches associated with low-density wild ungulate prey, roe deer Capreolus capreolus. We monitored 10 radio-collared lynx in central Norway in two seasons that differed in ungulate distribution and density. According to the 'optimal foraging theory' an animal should preferentially utilise areas with more abundant food if not constrained by other factors; therefore we predicted that lynx should select patches containing livestock. Contrary to our prediction the results indicate no selection for livestock patches in any season. In contrast, a clear preference was shown for roe deer patches in both seasons. Our findings support the hypothesis that lynx depredation on livestock seems to be affected by chance encounter rates, rather than by active selection for livestock-dense patches. We conclude that habitat selection by lynx seemed to be governed by a number of other factors than food alone, and that lynx predation on livestock, especially on sheep, should not be regarded as being ecologically equivalent to predation on wild prey.

Stéphanie C. Lefrere; Seasonal variations of diurnal activities and social interactions of semi-domesticated reindeer Rangifer tarandus tarandus in Finnish Lapland. Traditional and modern methods of reindeer husbandry.

Stéphanie C. Lefrere; Seasonal variations of diurnal activities and social interactions of semi-domesticated reindeer Rangifer tarandus tarandus in Finnish Lapland. Traditional and modern methods of reindeer husbandry.