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Northern nomads: ability for extensive movements in adult arctic foxes

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Abstract

In July 2008 we outfitted reproductively active adult arctic foxes with satellite tracking collars on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada and recorded their movements over a complete annual cycle. We present the tracking data from two individuals, one female and one male, who traveled extensively from February to July 2009, covering minimum distances of 4,599 and 2,193 km, respectively. We recorded high and sustained travel rates on both land and sea ice that reached 90 km/day for the female and 88 km/day for the male. Our data confirm that arctic foxes can move extensively and demonstrate sustained travel rates that are 1.5 times those previously measured for the species. Our study is the first presenting detailed year-round satellite tracking of adult arctic foxes and has implications for our understanding of navigational abilities, foraging ecology, trophic interactions with lemming populations, and genetic population structure of arctic foxes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank (alphabetical order) A. Bourbeau-Lemieux, M.-C. Cadieux, C. Cameron, A. Desjardins, D. Duchesne, G. Gauthier, F. Racine, E. Tremblay, for help with data collection. N. Lecomte and M. Fast provided valuable comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. We thank D. Piepenburg, one anonymous reviewer, N. Pamperin, and A. Angerbjörn for providing useful suggestions on this manuscript. We are indebted to the Parks Canada Agency and to the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization for allowing us to work in Sirmilik National Park of Canada. This study was supported by (alphabetical order) Canada Foundation for Innovation, Canada Research Chairs, Environment Canada, Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Network of Centers of Excellence of Canada ArcticNet, Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, Parks Canada, Polar Continental Shelf Program, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), and Université Laval. Capture techniques and immobilization procedures were approved by the UQAR Animal Care Committee (permit # CPA32-08-62) and field research by the Joint Park Management Committee of Sirmilik National Park of Canada (permit # SNP-2007-1070 amended on 8 May 2008). This is PCSP contribution # 005-10.

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  1. Chaire de recherche du Canada en conservation des écosystèmes nordiques et Centre d’études nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada

    Arnaud Tarroux, Dominique Berteaux & Joël Bêty

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  1. Arnaud Tarroux
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  2. Dominique Berteaux
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  3. Joël Bêty
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Correspondence to Arnaud Tarroux or Dominique Berteaux.

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Tarroux, A., Berteaux, D. & Bêty, J. Northern nomads: ability for extensive movements in adult arctic foxes. Polar Biol 33, 1021–1026 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0780-5

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