Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Habitat selection, reproduction and predation of wintering lemmings in the Arctic

  • Population ecology - Original Paper
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Snow cover has dramatic effects on the structure and functioning of Arctic ecosystems in winter. In the tundra, the subnivean space is the primary habitat of wintering small mammals and may be critical for their survival and reproduction. We have investigated the effects of snow cover and habitat features on the distributions of collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) and brown lemming (Lemmus trimucronatus) winter nests, as well as on their probabilities of reproduction and predation by stoats (Mustela erminea) and arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus). We sampled 193 lemming winter nests and measured habitat features at all of these nests and at random sites at two spatial scales. We also monitored overwinter ground temperature at a subsample of nest and random sites. Our results demonstrate that nests were primarily located in areas with high micro-topography heterogeneity, steep slopes, deep snow cover providing thermal protection (reduced daily temperature fluctuations) and a high abundance of mosses. The probability of reproduction increased in collared lemming nests at low elevation and in brown lemming nests with high availability of some graminoid species. The probability of predation by stoats was density dependent and was higher in nests used by collared lemmings. Snow cover did not affect the probability of predation of lemming nests by stoats, but deep snow cover limited predation attempts by arctic foxes. We conclude that snow cover plays a key role in the spatial structure of wintering lemming populations and potentially in their population dynamics in the Arctic.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson DR, Burnham KP, Thompson WL (2000) Null hypothesis testing: problems, prevalence, and an alternative. J Wildl Manage 64:912–923

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anselin L (2003) GeoDa 0.9 user’s guide. University of Illinois Press, Urbana-Champaign

    Google Scholar 

  • Audet B, Gauthier G, Lévesque E (2007) Feeding ecology of greater snow goose goslings in mesic tundra on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada. Condor 109:361–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barkley SA, Batzli GO, Collier BD (1980) Nutritional ecology of microtine rodents: simulation-model of mineral-nutrition for brown lemmings. Oikos 34:103–114

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Batzli GO, Cole FR (1979) Nutritional ecology of microtine rodents: digestibility of forage. J Mammal 60:740–750

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batzli GO, Jung HJG (1980) Nutritional ecology of microtine rodents: resource utilization near Atkasook, Alaska. Arct Alp Res 12:483–499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batzli GO, Pitelka FA (1983) Nutritional ecology of microtine rodents: food-habits of lemmings near Barrow, Alaska. J Mammal 64:648–655

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batzli GO, Pitelka FA, Cameron GN (1983) Habitat use by lemmings near Barrow, Alaska. Holarct Ecol 6:255–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyce MS (2006) Scale for resource selection functions. Divers Distrib 12:269–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brommer JE, Pietiäinen H, Ahola K, Karrel P, Karstinen T, Kolunen H (2010) The return of the vole cycle in southern Finland refutes the generality of the loss of cycles through ‘climate forcing’. Glob Change Biol 16:577–586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckland ST, Anderson DR, Burnham KP, Laake JL (1993) Distance sampling: estimating abundance of biological populations. Chapman & Hall Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Buckland ST, Anderson DR, Burnham KP, Laake JL, Borchers DL, Thomas L (2004) Advanced distance sampling. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and inference: a practical information–theoretic approach, 2nd edn. Springer Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Carl G, Kuhn I (2007) Analyzing spatial autocorrelation in species distributions using Gaussian and logit models. Ecol Model 207:159–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chappell MA (1980) Thermal energetics and thermoregulatory costs of small arctic mammals. J Mammal 61:278–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coulson T, Malo A (2008) Population biology: case of the absent lemmings. Nature 456:43–44

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deems JS, Fassnacht SR, Elder KJ (2008) Interannual consistency in fractal snow depth patterns at two Colorado mountain sites. J Hydrometeor 9:977–988

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dormann CF, McPherson JM, Araujo MB, Bivand R, Bolliger J, Carl G, Davies RG, Hirzel A, Jetz W, Kissling WD, Kuhn I, Ohlemuller R, Peres-Neto PR, Reineking B, Schroder B, Schurr FM, Wilson R (2007) Methods to account for spatial autocorrelation in the analysis of species distributional data: a review. Ecography 30:609–628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duchesne D, Gauthier G, Berteaux D (2011) Evaluation of a method to determine the breeding activity of lemmings in their winter nests. J Mammal 92:511–516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elton CS (1924) Periodic fluctuations in the number of animals: their causes and effects. Br J Exp Biol 2:119–163

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald BM (1977) Weasel predation on a cyclic population of montane vole (Microtus montanus) in California. J Anim Ecol 46:367–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller WA, Martell AM, Smith RFC, Speller SW (1975) High-arctic lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) 2. Demography. Can J Zool 53:867–878

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gauthier G, Bêty J, Giroux J-F, Rochefort L (2004) Trophic interactions in a high arctic snow goose colony. Integr Comp Biol 44:119–129

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilg O, Sittler B, Sabard B, Hurstel A, Sane R, Delattre P, Hanski I (2006) Functional and numerical responses of four lemming predators in high arctic Greenland. Oikos 113:193–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilg O, Sittler B, Hanski I (2009) Climate change and cyclic predator-prey population dynamics in the high Arctic. Glob Change Biol 15:2634–2652

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruyer N, Gauthier G, Berteaux D (2008) Cyclic dynamics of sympatric lemming populations on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada. Can J Zool 86:910–917

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruyer N, Gauthier G, Berteaux D (2010) Demography of two lemming species on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada. Polar Biol 33:725–736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen TF, Stenseth NC, Henttonen H (1999) Multiannual vole cycles and population regulation during long winters: an analysis of seasonal density dependence. Am Nat 154:129–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanski I, Hansson L, Henttonen H (1991) Specialist predators, generalist predators, and the microtine rodent cycle. J Anim Ecol 60:353–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansson L, Henttonen H (1985) Gradients in density variations of small rodents—the importance of latitude and snow cover. Oecologia 67:394–402

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansson L, Henttonen H (1988) Rodent dynamics as community processes. Trends Ecol Evol 3:195–200

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holling CS (1959) Some characteristic of simple types of predation and parasitism. Can Entomol 91:385–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hornfeldt B (2004) Long-term decline in numbers of cyclic voles in boreal Sweden: analysis and presentation of hypotheses. Oikos 107:376–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hornfeldt B, Hipkiss T, Eklund U (2005) Fading out of vole and predator cycles? Proc R Soc B 272:2045–2049

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huitu O, Jokinen I, Korpimaki E, Koskela E, Mappes T (2007) Phase dependence in winter physiological condition of cyclic voles. Oikos 116:565–577

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ims RA, Fuglei E (2005) Trophic interaction cycles in tundra ecosystems and the impact of climate change. Bioscience 55:311–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ims RA, Henden JA, Killengreen ST (2008) Collapsing population cycles. Trends Ecol Evol 23:79–86

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DH (1980) The comparison of usage and availability measurements for evaluating resource preference. Ecology 61:65–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kausrud KL, Mysterud A, Steen H, Vik JO, Ostbye E, Cazelles B, Framstad E, Eikeset AM, Mysterud I, Solhoy T, Stenseth NC (2008) Linking climate change to lemming cycles. Nature 456:93–97

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kline RB (1998) Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Korslund L, Steen H (2006) Small rodent winter survival: snow conditions limit access to food resources. J Anim Ecol 75:156–166

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krebs CJ (1964) The lemming cycle at Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, during 1959–62. Technical Paper No 15. Arctic Institute of North America, Calgary

  • Krebs CJ, Myers JH (1974) Population cycles in small mammals. Adv Ecol Res 8:267–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krebs CJ, Boonstra RD, Kenney AJ (1995) Population dynamics of the collared lemming and the tundra vole at Pearce-Point, Northwest-Territories, Canada. Oecologia 103:481–489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindstrom ER, Hornfeldt B (1994) Vole cycles, snow depth and fox predation. Oikos 70:156–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacLean SF, Fitzgerald BM, Pitelka FA (1974) Population cycles in arctic lemmings: winter reproduction and predation by weasels. Arct Alp Res 6:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manly BFJ, McDonald LL, Thomas DL, McDonald TL, Erickson WP (2002) Resource selection by animals: statistical design and analysis for field studies, 2nd edn. Kluwer, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Manseau M, Gauthier G (1993) Interactions between greater snow geese and their rearing habitat. Ecology 74:2045–2055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marchand PJ (1996) Life in the cold. New England University Press, Hanover

    Google Scholar 

  • McArdle JJ (1980) Causal-modeling applied to psychonomic systems simulation. Behav Res Meth Instrum 12:193–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millar JS (2001) On reproduction in lemmings. Ecoscience 8:145–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris DW, Davidson DL, Krebs CJ (2000) Measuring the ghost of competition: insights from density-dependent habitat selection on the co-existence and dynamics of lemmings. Evol Ecol Res 2:41–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Negus NC, Berger PJ (1998) Reproductive strategies of Dicrostonyx groenlandicus and Lemmus sibiricus in high-arctic tundra. Can J Zool 76:391–400

    Google Scholar 

  • Pan W (2001) Akaike’s information criterion in generalized estimating equations. Biometrics 57:120–125

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pitelka FA, Batzli GO (2007) Population cycles of lemmings near Barrow, Alaska: a historical review. Acta Theriol 52:323–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Predavec M, Krebs CJ (2000) Microhabitat utilisation, home ranges, and movement patterns of the collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) in the central Canadian Arctic. Can J Zool 78:1885–1890

    Google Scholar 

  • Prins H (1981) Why are mosses eaten in cold environment only? Oikos 38:374–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2008) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R foundation for statistical computing, Vienna. Available at http://www.R-project.org

  • Rammul U, Oksanen T, Oksanen L, Lehtela J, Virtanen R, Olofsson J, Strengbom J, Rammul I, Ericson L (2007) Vole-vegetation interactions in an experimental, enemy free taiga floor system. Oikos 116:1501–1513

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid DG, Krebs CJ (1996) Limitations to collared lemming population growth in winter. Can J Zool 74:1284–1291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers AR, Lewis MC (1986) Diet selection in arctic lemmings: demography, home range, and habitat use. Can J Zool 64:2717–2727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarnelle O, Wilson AE (2008) Type III functional response in Daphnia. Ecology 89:1723–1732

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scott PA (1993) Relationship between the onset of winter and collared lemming abundance at Churchill, Manitoba, Canada—1932–90. Arctic 46:293–296

    Google Scholar 

  • Sittler B (1995) Response of stoats (Mustela erminea) to a fluctuating lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) population in north east Greenland: preliminary results from a long-term study. Ann Zool Fenn 32:79–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research, 3rd edn. WH Freeman, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Solonen T (2006) Overwinter population change of small mammals in southern Finland. Ann Zool Fenn 43:295–302

    Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth NC (1999) Population cycles in voles and lemmings: density dependence and phase dependence in a stochastic world. Oikos 87:427–461

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank all of the people who participated in the laboratory and field work, particularly J.-B. Lambert, M. Marchand-Roy, É. Valiquette and M.C. Cadieux. We are grateful to S.D. Coté, M. Doiron, D. Fortin, O. Gilg, C. Juillet, L. McKinnon, D. Morris, D. Reid, B. Sittler and M-A. Valiquette for their comments on the manuscript. Funding support was provided by grants from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to G. Gauthier, the Fonds Québécois pour la Nature et les Technologies, the Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence ArcticNet, International Polar Year program of the Government of Canada, the Northern Ecosystem Initiative (Environment Canada), the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Logistic support was generously provided by the Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP). We are indebted to the Hunters and Trappers Association of Pond Inlet and to Park Canada for allowing us to work on Bylot Island. This is PCSP contribution No. 01711.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Biologie, Centre d’Études Nordiques, Université Laval, 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    David Duchesne & Gilles Gauthier

  2. Canada Research Chair in Conservation of Northern Ecosystems, Centre d’Études Nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, Canada

    Dominique Berteaux

Authors
  1. David Duchesne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gilles Gauthier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dominique Berteaux
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gilles Gauthier.

Additional information

Communicated by Janne Sundell.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 116 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Duchesne, D., Gauthier, G. & Berteaux, D. Habitat selection, reproduction and predation of wintering lemmings in the Arctic. Oecologia 167, 967–980 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2045-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2045-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation