Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends?

Dorothée Ehrich; Niels M. Schmidt; Gilles Gauthier; Ray Alisauskas; Anders Angerbjörn; Karin Clark; Frauke Ecke; Nina E. Eide; Erik Framstad; Jay Frandsen; Alastair Franke; Olivier Gilg; Marie Andrée Giroux; Heikki Henttonen; Birger Hörnfeldt; Rolf A. Ims; Gennadiy D. Kataev; Sergey P. Kharitonov; Siw T. Killengreen; Charles J. Krebs; Richard B. Lanctot; Nicolas Lecomte; Irina E. Menyushina; Douglas W. Morris; Guy Morrisson; Lauri Oksanen; Tarja Oksanen; Johan Olofsson; Ivan G. Pokrovsky; Igor Yu Popov; Donald Reid; James D. Roth; Sarah T. Saalfeld; Gustaf Samelius; Benoit Sittler; Sergey M. Sleptsov; Paul A. Smith; Aleksandr A. Sokolov; Natalya A. Sokolova; Mikhail Y. Soloviev; Diana V. Solovyeva

doi:10.1007/s13280-019-01198-7

Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends?

Dorothée Ehrich^*, Niels M. Schmidt, Gilles Gauthier, Ray Alisauskas, Anders Angerbjörn, Karin Clark, Frauke Ecke, Nina E. Eide, Erik Framstad, Jay Frandsen, Alastair Franke, Olivier Gilg, Marie Andrée Giroux, Heikki Henttonen, Birger Hörnfeldt, Rolf A. Ims, Gennadiy D. Kataev, Sergey P. Kharitonov, Siw T. Killengreen, Charles J. KrebsRichard B. Lanctot, Nicolas Lecomte, Irina E. Menyushina, Douglas W. Morris, Guy Morrisson, Lauri Oksanen, Tarja Oksanen, Johan Olofsson, Ivan G. Pokrovsky, Igor Yu Popov, Donald Reid, James D. Roth, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Gustaf Samelius, Benoit Sittler, Sergey M. Sleptsov, Paul A. Smith, Aleksandr A. Sokolov, Natalya A. Sokolova, Mikhail Y. Soloviev, Diana V. Solovyeva

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

63 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Lemmings are a key component of tundra food webs and changes in their dynamics can affect the whole ecosystem. We present a comprehensive overview of lemming monitoring and research activities, and assess recent trends in lemming abundance across the circumpolar Arctic. Since 2000, lemmings have been monitored at 49 sites of which 38 are still active. The sites were not evenly distributed with notably Russia and high Arctic Canada underrepresented. Abundance was monitored at all sites, but methods and levels of precision varied greatly. Other important attributes such as health, genetic diversity and potential drivers of population change, were often not monitored. There was no evidence that lemming populations were decreasing in general, although a negative trend was detected for low arctic populations sympatric with voles. To keep the pace of arctic change, we recommend maintaining long-term programmes while harmonizing methods, improving spatial coverage and integrating an ecosystem perspective.

Original language	English
Journal	AMBIO
Volume	49
Issue	3
Pages (from-to)	786-800
Number of pages	15
ISSN	0044-7447
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01198-7
Publication status	Published - Mar 2020

Keywords

Arctic
Dicrostonyx
Lemmus
Population monitoring
Small rodent
Temporal trends
Arvicolinae
Russia
Canada
Animals
Arctic Regions
Ecosystem
Population Dynamics

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10.1007/s13280-019-01198-7

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6989711/pdf/13280_2019_Article_1198.pdf

Cite this

Ehrich, D., Schmidt, N. M., Gauthier, G., Alisauskas, R., Angerbjörn, A., Clark, K., Ecke, F., Eide, N. E., Framstad, E., Frandsen, J., Franke, A., Gilg, O., Giroux, M. A., Henttonen, H., Hörnfeldt, B., Ims, R. A., Kataev, G. D., Kharitonov, S. P., Killengreen, S. T., ... Solovyeva, D. V. (2020). Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends? AMBIO, 49(3), 786-800. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01198-7

@article{b90a1b90c3af48f6ba0b54799e2f18d3,

title = "Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends?",

abstract = "Lemmings are a key component of tundra food webs and changes in their dynamics can affect the whole ecosystem. We present a comprehensive overview of lemming monitoring and research activities, and assess recent trends in lemming abundance across the circumpolar Arctic. Since 2000, lemmings have been monitored at 49 sites of which 38 are still active. The sites were not evenly distributed with notably Russia and high Arctic Canada underrepresented. Abundance was monitored at all sites, but methods and levels of precision varied greatly. Other important attributes such as health, genetic diversity and potential drivers of population change, were often not monitored. There was no evidence that lemming populations were decreasing in general, although a negative trend was detected for low arctic populations sympatric with voles. To keep the pace of arctic change, we recommend maintaining long-term programmes while harmonizing methods, improving spatial coverage and integrating an ecosystem perspective.",

keywords = "Arctic, Dicrostonyx, Lemmus, Population monitoring, Small rodent, Temporal trends, Arvicolinae, Russia, Canada, Animals, Arctic Regions, Ecosystem, Population Dynamics",

author = "Doroth{\'e}e Ehrich and Schmidt, {Niels M.} and Gilles Gauthier and Ray Alisauskas and Anders Angerbj{\"o}rn and Karin Clark and Frauke Ecke and Eide, {Nina E.} and Erik Framstad and Jay Frandsen and Alastair Franke and Olivier Gilg and Giroux, {Marie Andr{\'e}e} and Heikki Henttonen and Birger H{\"o}rnfeldt and Ims, {Rolf A.} and Kataev, {Gennadiy D.} and Kharitonov, {Sergey P.} and Killengreen, {Siw T.} and Krebs, {Charles J.} and Lanctot, {Richard B.} and Nicolas Lecomte and Menyushina, {Irina E.} and Morris, {Douglas W.} and Guy Morrisson and Lauri Oksanen and Tarja Oksanen and Johan Olofsson and Pokrovsky, {Ivan G.} and Popov, {Igor Yu} and Donald Reid and Roth, {James D.} and Saalfeld, {Sarah T.} and Gustaf Samelius and Benoit Sittler and Sleptsov, {Sergey M.} and Smith, {Paul A.} and Sokolov, {Aleksandr A.} and Sokolova, {Natalya A.} and Soloviev, {Mikhail Y.} and Solovyeva, {Diana V.}",

year = "2020",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1007/s13280-019-01198-7",

language = "English",

volume = "49",

pages = "786--800",

journal = "AMBIO",

issn = "0044-7447",

publisher = "Springer",

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Ehrich, D, Schmidt, NM, Gauthier, G, Alisauskas, R, Angerbjörn, A, Clark, K, Ecke, F, Eide, NE, Framstad, E, Frandsen, J, Franke, A, Gilg, O, Giroux, MA, Henttonen, H, Hörnfeldt, B, Ims, RA, Kataev, GD, Kharitonov, SP, Killengreen, ST, Krebs, CJ, Lanctot, RB, Lecomte, N, Menyushina, IE, Morris, DW, Morrisson, G, Oksanen, L, Oksanen, T, Olofsson, J, Pokrovsky, IG, Popov, IY, Reid, D, Roth, JD, Saalfeld, ST, Samelius, G, Sittler, B, Sleptsov, SM, Smith, PA, Sokolov, AA, Sokolova, NA, Soloviev, MY & Solovyeva, DV 2020, 'Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends?', AMBIO, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 786-800. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01198-7

TY - JOUR

T1 - Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic

T2 - Can we detect trends?

AU - Ehrich, Dorothée

AU - Schmidt, Niels M.

AU - Gauthier, Gilles

AU - Alisauskas, Ray

AU - Angerbjörn, Anders

AU - Clark, Karin

AU - Ecke, Frauke

AU - Eide, Nina E.

AU - Framstad, Erik

AU - Frandsen, Jay

AU - Franke, Alastair

AU - Gilg, Olivier

AU - Giroux, Marie Andrée

AU - Henttonen, Heikki

AU - Hörnfeldt, Birger

AU - Ims, Rolf A.

AU - Kataev, Gennadiy D.

AU - Kharitonov, Sergey P.

AU - Killengreen, Siw T.

AU - Krebs, Charles J.

AU - Lanctot, Richard B.

AU - Lecomte, Nicolas

AU - Menyushina, Irina E.

AU - Morris, Douglas W.

AU - Morrisson, Guy

AU - Oksanen, Lauri

AU - Oksanen, Tarja

AU - Olofsson, Johan

AU - Pokrovsky, Ivan G.

AU - Popov, Igor Yu

AU - Reid, Donald

AU - Roth, James D.

AU - Saalfeld, Sarah T.

AU - Samelius, Gustaf

AU - Sittler, Benoit

AU - Sleptsov, Sergey M.

AU - Smith, Paul A.

AU - Sokolov, Aleksandr A.

AU - Sokolova, Natalya A.

AU - Soloviev, Mikhail Y.

AU - Solovyeva, Diana V.

PY - 2020/3

Y1 - 2020/3

N2 - Lemmings are a key component of tundra food webs and changes in their dynamics can affect the whole ecosystem. We present a comprehensive overview of lemming monitoring and research activities, and assess recent trends in lemming abundance across the circumpolar Arctic. Since 2000, lemmings have been monitored at 49 sites of which 38 are still active. The sites were not evenly distributed with notably Russia and high Arctic Canada underrepresented. Abundance was monitored at all sites, but methods and levels of precision varied greatly. Other important attributes such as health, genetic diversity and potential drivers of population change, were often not monitored. There was no evidence that lemming populations were decreasing in general, although a negative trend was detected for low arctic populations sympatric with voles. To keep the pace of arctic change, we recommend maintaining long-term programmes while harmonizing methods, improving spatial coverage and integrating an ecosystem perspective.

AB - Lemmings are a key component of tundra food webs and changes in their dynamics can affect the whole ecosystem. We present a comprehensive overview of lemming monitoring and research activities, and assess recent trends in lemming abundance across the circumpolar Arctic. Since 2000, lemmings have been monitored at 49 sites of which 38 are still active. The sites were not evenly distributed with notably Russia and high Arctic Canada underrepresented. Abundance was monitored at all sites, but methods and levels of precision varied greatly. Other important attributes such as health, genetic diversity and potential drivers of population change, were often not monitored. There was no evidence that lemming populations were decreasing in general, although a negative trend was detected for low arctic populations sympatric with voles. To keep the pace of arctic change, we recommend maintaining long-term programmes while harmonizing methods, improving spatial coverage and integrating an ecosystem perspective.

KW - Arctic

KW - Dicrostonyx

KW - Lemmus

KW - Population monitoring

KW - Small rodent

KW - Temporal trends

KW - Arvicolinae

KW - Russia

KW - Canada

KW - Animals

KW - Arctic Regions

KW - Ecosystem

KW - Population Dynamics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85069534610&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s13280-019-01198-7

DO - 10.1007/s13280-019-01198-7

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31332767

AN - SCOPUS:85069534610

SN - 0044-7447

VL - 49

SP - 786

EP - 800

JO - AMBIO

JF - AMBIO

IS - 3

ER -

Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends?

Abstract

Keywords

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BioBasis Zackenberg

Interactions 2

TEMG: Terrestrial Expert Monitoring Group

Correction to: Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends? (Ambio, (2020), 49, 3, (786-800), 10.1007/s13280-019-01198-7)

Cite this

Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends?

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

BioBasis Zackenberg

Interactions 2

TEMG: Terrestrial Expert Monitoring Group

Research output

Correction to: Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends? (Ambio, (2020), 49, 3, (786-800), 10.1007/s13280-019-01198-7)

Cite this