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      Foraging behaviours and population dynamics of arctic foxes

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      Samelius.pdf (912.4Kb)
      Date
      2006-04-26
      Author
      Samelius, Gustaf
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Doctoral
      Metadata
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      Abstract
      Northern environments are often characterised by large seasonal and annual fluctuations in food abundance. In this thesis, I examined how arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) used seasonally superabundant foods (geese and their eggs) and how access to these foods influenced population dynamics of arctic foxes. I addressed this against a backdrop of variation in lemming and vole abundance (small mammals hereafter) – the main foods of arctic foxes throughout most of their range. Field work was done at the large goose colony at Karrak Lake and surrounding areas in the Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary in Nunavut, Canada, in the spring and summers of 2000 to 2004. Behavioural observations of individually-marked arctic foxes showed that they took and cached 2,000-3,000 eggs per fox each year and that the rate at which they took eggs was largely unrelated to individual attributes of foxes (e.g. sex, size, and breeding status) and nesting distribution of geese. Further, the rate at which foxes took eggs varied considerably within individuals in that foxes were efficient at taking eggs at times and inefficient at other times. This may have resulted from foxes switching between foraging actively and taking eggs opportunistically while performing other demands such as territorial behaviours. Comparison of stable isotope ratios (ẟ¹³C and ẟ¹⁵N) of fox tissues and those of their foods showed that the contribution of cached eggs to arctic fox diets was inversely related to collared lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus) abundance. In fact, the contribution of cached eggs to overall fox diets increased from
      Degree
      Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
      Department
      Biology
      Program
      Biology
      Committee
      Messier, François; Larivière, Serge; Hobson, Keith A.; Alisauskas, Ray T.; Wobeser, Gary A.
      Copyright Date
      April 2006
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-08212006-170019
      Subject
      food caching
      food hoarding
      seasonally superabundant foods
      arctic foxes
      population dynamics
      foraging behaviours
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