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Activity pattern of arctic reindeer in a predator-free environment: no need to keep a daily rhythm

  • Population Ecology
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Abstract

Arctic Cervids face considerable challenges in sustaining life in a harsh and highly seasonal environment, and when to forage is a key component of the survival strategy. We predict that a cervid maximizes net intake of energy to change the duration of feeding-ruminating cycles depending on season, and pays no attention to light or other activity-entraining cues. Still, in periods of bad weather it may pay energetically to reduce exposure and heat loss. We investigated environmental impact on the seasonal and daily activity pattern of a food-limited, predator-free arctic deer, the Svalbard reindeer. We found that the reindeer indeed had season-dependent feeding-rumination intervals, with no distinct peaks in activity at sunrise and sunset, as would be expected if animals maximize energy intake rates in predator-free environments. However, they temporarily reduced activity when exposed to low temperature and increased precipitation during winter, possibly to conserve energy. We provide insight into the behavioural strategy of Svalbard reindeer which enables them to cope with such an extreme environment.

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Acknowledgments

The field work and data acquisition were supported by the reindeer research projects at the Norwegian Polar Institute. We are grateful to the Research Council of Norway for support to LEL, CB and AM (YFF project) and to Clement Calenge for statistical advice. Finally, we thank Jean-Michel Gaillard, Norman Owen-Smith and two anonymous referees for valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Leif Egil Loe, Christophe Bonenfant, Atle Mysterud & Nils Chr. Stenseth

  2. UMR 5558 “Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive”, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, 43, Bvd du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France

    Christophe Bonenfant

  3. Department of Molecular Biosciences, P.O. Box 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Torbjørn Severinsen

  4. Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Nils Are Øritsland

  5. The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), 9170, Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, Norway

    Rolf Langvatn

  6. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tungasletta 2, 7005, Trondheim, Norway

    Rolf Langvatn

  7. Department of Biology, University of Tromsø, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Audun Stien

  8. The Macaulay Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK

    R. Justin Irvine

Authors
  1. Leif Egil Loe
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  2. Christophe Bonenfant
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  3. Atle Mysterud
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  4. Torbjørn Severinsen
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  5. Nils Are Øritsland
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  6. Rolf Langvatn
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  7. Audun Stien
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  8. R. Justin Irvine
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  9. Nils Chr. Stenseth
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Atle Mysterud.

Additional information

Communicated by Jean-Michel-Gaillard.

We dedicate this paper to Nils Are Øritsland (born 1939) who died 24th of November 2006 of cancer. Norway lost a real “old-timer” with an extraordinary experience from the Arctic. We have lost a good colleague.

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Loe, L.E., Bonenfant, C., Mysterud, A. et al. Activity pattern of arctic reindeer in a predator-free environment: no need to keep a daily rhythm. Oecologia 152, 617–624 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0681-7

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