Circumpolar status of Arctic ptarmigan: Population dynamics and trends

Authors

Eva Fuglei, Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram CentreFollow
John-Andre ́ Henden, University of Tromsø, The Arctic UniversityFollow
Chris T. Callahan, Government of Newfoundland and LabradorFollow
Olivier Gilg, Groupe de recherche en Ecologie Arctique & Universite ́ de Bour- gogne Franche-ComteFollow
Jannik Hansen, Aarhus UniversityFollow
Rolf A. Ims, University of Tromsø, The Arctic UniversityFollow
Arkady P. Isaev, IBPC SB RASFollow
Johannes Lang, Justus- Liebig-University GiessenFollow
Carol L. McIntyre, US National Park ServiceFollow
Richard A. Merizon, Alaska Department of Fish and GameFollow
Oleg Y. Mineev, Komi RepublicFollow
Yuri N. Mineev, Komi RepublicFollow
Dave Mossop, Yukon CollegeFollow
Olafur K. Nielsen, Icelandic Institute of Natural HistoryFollow
Erlend B. Nilsen, Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchFollow
Ashild Ønvik Pedersen, Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram CentreFollow
Niels Martin Martin, Aarhus UniversityFollow
Benoıt Sittler, University of FreiburFollow
Maria Hørnell Willebrand, Inland Norway University of Applied SciencesFollow
Kathy Martin, University of British ColumbiaFollow

ORCID IDs

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8536-0088

Date of this Version

5-9-2019

Citation

Ambio 2020, 49:749–761 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01191-0

Comments

U.S. Government Works are not subject to copyright.

Abstract

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) are Arctic birds with a circumpolar distribution but there is limited knowledge about their status and trends across their circumpolar distribution. Here, we compiled information from 90 ptarmigan study sites from 7 Arctic countries, where almost half of the sites are still monitored. Rock ptarmigan showed an overall negative trend on Iceland and Greenland, while Svalbard and Newfoundland had positive trends, and no significant trends in Alaska. For willow ptarmigan, there was a negative trend in mid-Sweden and eastern Russia, while northern Fennoscandia, North America and Newfoundland had no significant trends. Both species displayed some periods with population cycles (short 3–6 years and long 9–12 years), but cyclicity changed through time for both species. We propose that simple, cost-efficient systematic surveys that capture the main feature of ptarmigan population dynamics can form the basis for citizen science efforts in order to fill knowledge gaps for the many regions that lack systematic ptarmigan monitoring programs.