The relative role of winter and spring conditions: linking climate and landscape-scale plant phenology to alpine reindeer body mass.
The relative importance of winter harshness and early summer foraging conditions are of prime interest when assessing the effect of global warming on Arctic and mountainous ecosystems. We explored how climate and vegetation onset (satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index data) determined individual performance in three reindeer populations (data on 27814 calves sampled over 11 years). Snow conditions, spring temperatures and topography were the main determinants of the onset of the vegetation. An earlier onset positively affected the body mass of calves born the following autumn, while there was no significant direct negative impact of the previous winter. This study underlines the major impact of winter and spring climatic conditions, determining the spring and summer food availability, and the subsequent growth of calves among alpine herbivores.
Pettorelli
Nathalie
N
Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1050, Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
Weladji
Robert B
RB
Holand
Oystein
O
Mysterud
Atle
A
Breie
Halgrim
H
Stenseth
Nils Chr
NC
D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D002980:Climate; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010507:Periodicity; D063245:Plant Development; D012053:Reindeer / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D012098:Reproduction; D012621:Seasons; D012914:Snow