Floral Herbivory of Dryas octopetala by Svalbard Reindeer

Population genetics of purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) in the high Arctic archipelago of Svalbard

“…Small seeds are dispersed by the winds across the glaciers and whole plants have been known to float great distances on ice (Hultén and Fries 1986; Holderegger and Abbott 2003). It has also been reported that local reindeer forage on S. oppositifolia , particularly on its nutritious reproductive shoots (Cooper and Wookey 2003), especially in the northern parts of the archipelago where moss and lichen are scarce (Staaland and Punsvik 1980). Although Svalbard reindeer tend to remain in the local home range area, individual animals migrate regularly and plant dispersal may be more common than expected (Hansen et al 2009).…”

Floral herbivory of the wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa L.) by roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.)

“…shoots that were the same size as the flower‐bearing shoots, based on the diameter of the intact stems left behind), with up to 75–80% of flowers eaten in some study plots. The proportion of flowering shoots eaten by roe deer was similarly high to that found for white‐tailed deer browsing Dixie iris and reindeer browsing mountain avens (Cooper & Wookey 2003; Tobler et al. 2006).…”

“…Although herbivory by invertebrates on inflorescences typically causes localised, partial damage to floral tissues (Breadmore & Kirk 1998), vertebrate browsing can eliminate the current year's entire sexual reproductive potential of individual plants or ramets. Recent studies have demonstrated that deer herbivory can locally exhibit high browsing pressure on flowering shoots, for example, reindeer browsing on mountain avens, Dryas octopetala L. (Cooper & Wookey 2003) or white‐tailed deer browsing on Dixie iris, Iris hexagona Walter (Tobler et al. 2006).…”

Selected Landscapes Under the Influence of Wild Herbivorous Mammals

“…On Svalbard, for example, summer foraging by reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus platyrhyncus ) in high density has been found to suppress fl owering and thus recruitment of mountain avens ( Dryas octopetala ), which is the vascular plant species with the highest-percentage cover. The impact varies depending on reindeer foraging pressure (Cooper and Wookey 2003 ).…”