Snowmobile impact on diurnal behaviour in the Arctic fox

Fuglei, Eva; Ehrich, Dorothée; Killengreen, Siw Turid; Rodnikova, Anna Y.; Sokolov, Alexander; Pedersen, Åshild Ønvik

doi:10.1080/17518369.2017.1327300

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…During night, they were instead less present at the den, possibly due to more intensive night time foraging to compensate for lost hunting opportunities at daytime (Larm, ). Similar results were found in Svalbard, where arctic foxes in areas with snow mobile traffic fed less from provided reindeer carcasses during the day and more during the night (Fuglei et al , ). In this study, tourism activity did not seem to increase the risk of juvenile starvation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Fitness effects of ecotourism on an endangered carnivore

Larm

Erlandsson

Norén

et al. 2019

Animal Conservation

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Nature‐based recreational and tourism activities can exert significant direct and indirect impacts on wildlife, through behavioral, physiological and distributional changes. Despite many studies demonstrating such changes, few attempts have been made to quantify the fitness consequences and evaluate their biological significance. Helagsfjällen in Sweden is a core area of the endangered Fennoscandian arctic fox Vulpes lagopus, and a popular area for recreational tourism. Some dens in the area experience daily disturbance from tourism during the summer season, while others are virtually undisturbed. We used a long‐term dataset (2008–2017) of 553 juveniles in 74 litters to investigate summer juvenile survival, which is an important fitness component for the arctic fox. We found that the mean juvenile survival rate increased from 0.56 at undisturbed dens to 0.83 at disturbed den during years of decreasing small‐rodent abundance, where predation on the arctic fox is presumed to be highest. We suggest that the increased survival could be mediated by a human activity‐induced predator refuge for the arctic foxes in close proximity of trails and mountain huts. Our study demonstrates a possible positive indirect effect of nature‐based tourism on wildlife and is one of a few studies attempting to quantify this impact. It highlights the importance of context for how animals are affected by disturbance. We also demonstrate that studying how the effects of tourism activity vary depending on the context could provide opportunities for identifying the mechanisms behind these effects, which can be an important link between scientific research and the management of wildlife and tourism activities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Fitness effects of ecotourism on an endangered carnivore

Larm

Erlandsson

Norén

et al. 2019

Animal Conservation

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“…This is consistent with the hypothesis that time would influence the use of feeding stations by arctic foxes. The nocturnal activity peak is likely linked to predator avoidance; the arctic fox is described as less nocturnal in regions like Svalbard where it is not exposed to other mesocarnivore competitors (Fuglei et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Supplementary Feeding Dispensers by Arctic Foxes in Norway

et al. 2020

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Supplementary feeding is often used as a conservation tool to reverse the decline of foodlimited populations. The arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is one of the most endangered mammals in Norway and has been the target of several conservation initiatives for almost 3 decades, including supplementary feeding. To measure and improve the efficiency of supplementary feeding as a conservation action, we used passive integrated transponder (PIT)-tags in arctic foxes and 6 feeding stations equipped with PIT-tag readers to monitor individual use of supplemental food between 2013 and 2018. We tested hypotheses about the potential influence of temporal and spatial patterns, individual characteristics (i.e., age, sex, reproductive status), and food abundance (abundance of small rodents and amount of food filled) on the frequency and intensity of use of supplementary feeding stations by arctic foxes. The feeding stations were visited ≥1 time by 196 PIT-tagged individuals. We detected 54% of juveniles born in the study area between 2013 and 2017 at the feeding stations. More arctic foxes used the feeding stations during the pre-breeding period than during the other seasons, and the visits occurred mostly at night. The closest feeding station to each natal den was systematically used by the established pair and by the juveniles born at this den. Juveniles did not use the feeding stations more than adult foxes. Older foxes, and breeding adults, visited the feeding stations more than younger and non-breeding adults. Foxes used feeding stations more intensively when prey was scarce and with greater amounts of supplemental food. This study highlights that supplemental feeding is important for breeding adults, especially in periods of low prey abundance. Understanding the use of feeding stations will contribute to the optimization of supplemental feeding as a conservation action and help wildlife managers to carefully plan and manage its discontinuation.

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“…In Svalbard, many tourists travel using snowmobiles. Fuglei et al (2017) showed that snowmobile traffic impacted the diurnal activity of Arctic foxes. This could influence what prey Arctic foxes feed on, and thereby also their management.…”

Section: This Supplemental Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Foreword to Supplement 1: research on a polar species—the Arctic fox

et al. 2017

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The Arctic fox has a circumpolar distribution and is intensively studied because it is adapted to extreme environments and influences the ecology of many other species. We introduce here a collection of 12 articles on Arctic fox biology and management. After summarizing the main biological features of the species, we explore the peer-reviewed literature dealing with the Arctic fox through a bibliometric network analysis which identifies clusters of papers sharing a high similarity of cited literature. We visualize with a word cloud analysis 10 clusters comprising 97% of 755 articles published by 1742 authors from 1996-2015. Behavioural and ecological questions, including conservation science, dominate this recent literature. The collection of papers published in the supplement offers an excellent representation of current research dealing with Arctic fox biology and management.

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Snowmobile impact on diurnal behaviour in the Arctic fox

Cited by 12 publications

References 31 publications

Fitness effects of ecotourism on an endangered carnivore

Fitness effects of ecotourism on an endangered carnivore

Use of Supplementary Feeding Dispensers by Arctic Foxes in Norway

Foreword to Supplement 1: research on a polar species—the Arctic fox

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