Home range and movements of arctic foxes Alopex lagopus in Svalbard

Frafjord, Karl; Prestrud, Pål

doi:10.1007/bf00238191

Cited by 59 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Resource areas were described in summer (Eide et al 2004), and it is not clear to what extent resource specialization extends to other seasons. In a radio-telemetry study, in Svalbard, about half of the followed foxes were relocated in the same area in several seasons (Frafjord and Prestrud 1992). Assuming that foxes shift home ranges seasonally, it is possible that we did not detect a genetic structure which might exist in summer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…The island is characterized by several large fjords, which freeze in some winters, but not in all. Sixty percent of Svalbard's landmass is covered by permanent snow and glaciers, but since arctic foxes are known to travel over ice (e.g., Eberhardt and Hanson 1978;Andriashek et al 1985;Frafjord and Prestrud 1992), physical barriers to dispersal are likely absent.…”

Section: Study Area Sample Collection and Laboratory Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was the case in swift foxes, where the kin structure extended to a larger scale in females than in males (Kitchen et al 2005), as well as in polar bears, where no kin structure was observed for males at the scale of the study (Zeyl et al 2009). The existence of a kin structure within populations of arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus), a medium-sized predator with impressive dispersal abilities (Sdobnikov 1940;Frafjord and Prestrud 1992;Pamperin et al 2008;Tarroux et al 2010), has not been previously studied by molecular genetic methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite observations of natal philopatry from two populations at the margin of the arctic fox's range (central Norway, Strand et al 2000;Mednyi Island, Goltsman et al 2005), little is known about the total dispersal phase between the natal home range and the establishment of a reproductive territory, which would determine the formation of a genetically measurable kin structure. Dispersal of juveniles occurs either early in the autumn (August and September) or in mid-winter (December to March; Eberhardt et al 1983;Frafjord and Prestrud 1992;Strand et al 2000). Most young foxes leave their parents' territory during their first year of life, but some may not disperse until their second year (Angerbjörn et al 2004b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Age-dependent genetic structure of arctic foxes in Svalbard

2011

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Arctic foxes are highly mobile arctic predators with a very weak population genetic structure over large parts of their range. Less is, however, known about the more local genetic structure within regions. Here, we analyze genotypes at 12 microsatellite loci for 561 arctic foxes trapped in the high-arctic archipelago Svalbard and investigate the genetic structure in three different age classes. Significant linkage disequilibrium, deficit of heterozygotes, genetic differentiation, and a decrease in relatedness with distance among animals trapped in their first winter suggested that some litter mates remain in proximity of each other during the first winter. This pattern was stronger for females than for males, indicating male-biased juvenile dispersal, and weaker for older animals. There was no genetic differentiation among adult foxes harvested in different hunting areas. The foxes from the protected area around Hornsund were however more differentiated than expected based on geographic distance alone, suggesting a possible disrupting effect of harvest on the spatial genetic structure in the rest of Svalbard. Our results also indicated a possible kin structure among adult females, suggesting natal philopatry, but further investigations will be needed to reach firm conclusions concerning kin structure in arctic foxes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Study Area Sample Collection and Laboratory Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Age-dependent genetic structure of arctic foxes in Svalbard

2011

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“…Arctic fox movement seems to be influenced by resource availability in time and space (Wrigley and Hatch 1976;Eide et al 2004), and although ''coastal foxes'' can undertake annual movements due to food scarcity during the winter season (Frafjord and Prestrud 1992;Eide et al unpublished), long-distance movements ([1,000 km) and nomadic behaviour seem to be far more common among ''lemming foxes' ' (e.g. Pullainen 1965;Wrigley and Hatch 1976;Pamperin et al 2008;Tarroux et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Pulses of movement across the sea ice: population connectivity and temporal genetic structure in the arctic fox

et al. 2011

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Lemmings are involved in several important functions in the Arctic ecosystem. The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) can be divided into two discrete ecotypes: "lemming foxes" and "coastal foxes". Crashes in lemming abundance can result in pulses of "lemming fox" movement across the Arctic sea ice and immigration into coastal habitats in search for food. These pulses can influence the genetic structure of the receiving population. We have tested the impact of immigration on the genetic structure of the "coastal fox" population in Svalbard by recording microsatellite variation in seven loci for 162 Arctic foxes sampled during the summer and winter over a 5-year period. Genetic heterogeneity and temporal genetic shifts, as inferred by STRUCTURE simulations and deviations from Hardy-Weinberg proportions, respectively, were recorded. Maximum likelihood estimates of movement as well as STRUCTURE simulations suggested that both immigration and genetic mixture are higher in Svalbard than in the neighbouring "lemming fox" populations. The STRUCTURE simulations and AMOVA revealed there are differences in genetic composition of the population between summer and winter seasons, indicating that immigrants are not present in the reproductive portion of the Svalbard population. Based on these results, we conclude that Arctic fox population structure varies with time and is influenced by immigration from neighbouring populations. The lemming cycle is likely an important factor shaping Arctic fox movement across sea ice and the subsequent population genetic structure, but is also likely to influence local adaptation to the coastal habitat and the prevalence of diseases.

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