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Effects of an exceptionally snowy winter on chamois survival

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Abstract

Although weather-induced mass mortalities of wild ungulates have been reported, no study has quantified how these episodes may affect the survival of prime-aged adults. Long-term studies of marked ungulates have instead consistently found very weak or no effects of weather on the survival of this age class, particularly for females. We report on the effects of the exceptionally snowy winter of 2008–2009 on three populations of chamois in the western Alps: two in Italy, one in France. In the Alpi Marittime Natural Park in Italy, mortality of prime-aged females (aged 2–9 years) was 43%, about five times higher than reported by previous studies of chamois. Just across the continental divide in the adjacent Mercantour National Park (PNM) in France, however, prime-aged female mortality was only 6%. Senescent females suffered very high mortality in both populations (100% and 56%). In the Gran Paradiso National Park in Italy and in the Alpi Marittime Natural Park, adult male mortality rate was respectively of 81% and 44%, whereas in the PNM, it was only 10%. A recent reduction in population density in the French population, or lower absolute snowfall than in Italy, may explain the difference in survival. Survival of males and prime-aged females can be affected by exceptional weather events, possibly in combination with high population density. Adult chamois of both sexes appeared to show elevated mortality in response to harsh winter conditions. Our results underline the importance of considering sex and age classes in evaluating the impacts of population density in wild ungulates.

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Acknowledgements

Our research on chamois is financed by Piemonte Region, the Alpi Marittime Natural Park (PNAM) and the Gran Paradiso National Park (PNGP), Italy, and by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. We are grateful to Augusto Rivelli, Enzo Piacenza, Mario Dotto, Walter Roggero, Mario Bertaina and Giancarlo Biglino for capturing chamois in PNAM. Particular thanks are due to Bruno Bassano, Piero Chabod and Paolo Guglielmetti for capturing chamois in PNGP and to Bruno Bassano for commenting on a draft of this paper. We are grateful to Iride-Energia S.p.a. for providing meteorological data from the Serrù Meteo Station in the PNGP. This paper was written while Achaz von Hardenberg was hosted as a visiting research fellow at the National Centre for Statistical Ecology, University of Kent, UK supported by the European Union, the Autonomous Region Aosta Valley and the Italian Ministry of Work and Social Previdence. The French data are from a collaborative study by the CNRS, the Hunter Federation of Alpes Maritimes, the Mercantour National Park and the ONCFS. We are particularly grateful to Xavier Tardy, Jean-Pierre Bergeon and Claire Anceau for their dedicated efforts in capturing chamois.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Parco Naturale Alpi Marittime, Piazza Regina Elena 30, 12010, Valdieri, CN, Italy

    Marco Rughetti

  2. Département de biologie and Centre d’études nordiques, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada

    Marco Rughetti & Marco Festa-Bianchet

  3. Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, 5 allée de Bethléem, Z.I. Mayencin, 38610, Gières, France

    Carole Toïgo

  4. Alpine Wildlife Research Centre, Gran Paradiso National Park Degioz 11, 11010, Valsavarenche, Aosta, Italy

    Achaz Von Hardenberg

  5. Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Università di Pavia, Via Adolfo Ferrata n°1, 27100, Pavia, Italy

    Emanuel Rocchia

Authors
  1. Marco Rughetti
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  2. Carole Toïgo
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  3. Achaz Von Hardenberg
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  4. Emanuel Rocchia
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  5. Marco Festa-Bianchet
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Correspondence to Marco Rughetti.

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Communicated by: Jan Wójcik

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Rughetti, M., Toïgo, C., Von Hardenberg, A. et al. Effects of an exceptionally snowy winter on chamois survival. Acta Theriol 56, 329–333 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-011-0040-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-011-0040-2

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