Journal
POLAR BIOLOGY
Volume 32, Issue 7, Pages 971-984Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00300-009-0597-2
Keywords
Foraging trade-offs; Functional response; Habitat selection; Home range size; Plant-animal interactions; Svalbard reindeer
Categories
Funding
- Norwegian Research Council (NFR)
- Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI)
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
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We analysed how changes in resource levels influence foraging trade-offs in late winter by wild Svalbard reindeer. Forage plants, and particularly lichens, were less abundant at the overgrazed Broggerhalvoya compared with the neighbouring Sarsoyra. Strong interactions occurred between habitat selection, home range size, and feeding crater selection. At Broggerhalvoya, radiocollared females generally selected productive habitat (high summer NDVI; Normalised Difference Vegetation Index). Immigrants at Sarsoyra (dispersed from Broggerhalvoya in early winter) had similar habitat preferences, probably due to past experience. In contrast, residents at Sarsoyra were more influenced by abiotic conditions, using habitat with low NDVI, but selecting for high-quality forage (lichens) when cratering. This suggests more quality-based selection at the expense of quantity when forage abundance increases. Habitat-space use relationships also differed between the animal categories, as home range size decreased with availability of preferred habitat. Thus, changes in forage abundance can strongly influence winter habitat-space use interactions in predator-free systems.
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