Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Circumpolar status of Arctic ptarmigan: Population dynamics and trends

  • Terrestrial Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing Arctic
  • Published:
Ambio Aims and scope Submit manuscript

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barraquand, F., S. Louca, K.C. Abbott, C.A. Cobbold, F. Cordoleani, D.L. DeAngelis, B.D. Eldern, J.W. Fox, et al. 2017. Moving forward in circles: Challenges and opportunities in modelling population cycles. Ecology Letters 20: 1074–1092.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bjørnstad, O.N., and B.T. Grenfell. 2001. Noisy clockwork: Time series analysis of population fluctuations in animals. Science 29: 638–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bjørnstad, O.N., R.A. Ims, and X. Lambin. 1999. Spatial population dynamics: Analysing patterns and processes of population synchrony. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14: 427–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boonstra, R., H.P. Andreassen, S. Boutin, J. Husek, R.A. Ims, C.J. Krebs, C. Skarpe, and P. Wabakken. 2016. Why do the boreal forest ecosystems of northwestern Europe differ from those of western North America? BioScience 66: 722–734.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckland, S.T., D.R. Anderson, K.P. Burnham, J.L. Laake, D.L. Borchers, and L. Thomas. 2001. Introduction to distance sampling. Estimating abundance of biological populations. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cattadori, I.M., D.T. Haydon, S.J. Thirgood, and P.J. Hudson. 2003. Are indirect measures of abundance a useful index of population density? The case of red grouse harvesting. Oikos 100: 439–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, T., J. Payne, M. Doyle, G. Ibarguchi, J. Taylor, N.M. Schmidt, M. Gill, M. Svoboda, et al. 2013. The Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring Plan. CAFF Monitoring Series Report Nr. 7. Akureyri: CAFF International Secretariat.

  • Cornullier, T., N.G. Yoccoz, V. Bretagnolle, J.E. Brommer, A. Butet, F. Ecke, D.A. Elston, E. Framstad, et al. 2013. Europe-wide dampening of population cycles in keystone herbivores. Science 340: 63–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elmhagen, B., J. Kindberg, P. Hellstrom, and A. Angerbjorn. 2015. A boreal invasion in response to climate change? Range shifts and community effects in the borderland between forest and tundra. Ambio 44: 39–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannon, S.J., P.K. Eason, and K. Martin. 1998. Willow Ptarmigan. In The birds of North America, No. 369, eds. A. Poole, F. Gill, 1–28. Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists’ Union.

  • Hastings, A. 2004. Transients: The key to long-term ecological understanding? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 19: 39–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henden, J.-A., R.A. Ims, E. Fuglei, and Å.Ø. Pedersen. 2017. Changed Arctic–alpine food web interactions under rapid climate warming: Implication for ptarmigan research. Wildlife Biology. https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henden, J.-A., R.A. Ims, and N.G. Yoccoz. 2009. Nonstationary spatio-temporal small rodent dynamics: Evidence from long-term Norwegian fox bounty data. Journal of Animal Ecology 78: 636–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henden, J.-A., R.A. Ims, N.G. Yoccoz, and S.T. Killengreen. 2011. Declining Willow Ptarmigan populations: The role of habitat structure and community dynamics. Basic and Applied Ecology 12: 413–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hjeljord, O. 2015. Ryper før og nå. Rypejegernes dagsutbytte fra 1872 til 2013. NINA fagrapport 30 (in Norwegian).

  • Holmstad, P.R., P.J. Hudson, V. Vandvik, and A. Skorping. 2005. Can parasites synchronise the population fluctuations of sympatric tetraonids? Examining some minimum conditions. Oikos 109: 429–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ims, R.A., and E. Fuglei. 2005. Trophic interaction cycles in tundra ecosystems and the impact of climate change. BioScience 55: 311–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ims, R.A., J.-A. Henden, and S.T. Killengreen. 2008. Collapsing population cycles. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 23: 79–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ims, R.A., and N.G. Yoccoz. 2017. Ecosystem-based monitoring in the age of rapid climate change and new technologies. Current Opinions in Sustainability Science 29: 170–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ims, R.A., N.G. Yoccoz, K.A. Bråthen, P. Fauchald, T. Tveraa, and V. Hausner. 2007. Can reindeer overabundance cause a trophic cascade? Ecosystems 10: 607–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN. 2016. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016.3.1.

  • Kausrud, K.L., A. Mysterud, H. Steen, J.O. Vik, E. Østbye, B. Cazelles, E. Framstad, A.M. Eikeset, et al. 2008. Linking climate change to lemming cycles. Nature 456: 93–98.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krebs, C.J., R. Boonstra, S. Boutin, A.R.E. Sinclair, J.N.M. Smith, B.S. Gilbert, K. Martin, M. O’Donoghue, et al. 2014. Trophic dynamics of the boreal forests of the Kluane Region. Arctic (Supplement) 67: 71–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehikoinen, A., M. Green, M. Husby, J.A. Kålås, and Å. Lindström. 2014. Common montane birds are declining in northern Europe. Journal of Avian Biology 45: 3–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, K., C. Doyle, S. Hannon, and F. Mueller. 2001. Forest grouse and ptarmigan. Chapter 11. In Ecosystem dynamics of the boreal forest: The Kluane Project, ed. C.J. Krebs, S. Boutin, and R. Boonstral, 240–260. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, K., and S. Wilson. 2011. Ptarmigan in North America: Influence of life history and environmental conditions on population persistence. In Gyrfalcons and ptarmigan in a changing world, vol. I, ed. R.T. Watson, T.J. Cade, M. Fuller, G. Hunt, and E. Potapov, 45–54. Boise: The Peregrine Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Møller, A.P., W. Fiedler, and P. Berthold. 2010. Effects of climate change on birds. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moss, R., and A. Watson. 2001. Population cycles in birds of the grouse family (Tetraonidae). Advances in Ecological Research 32: 53–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myrberget, S. 1986. Annual variation in clutch sizes of a population of willow grouse Lagopus lagopus. Fauna norvegica Series C, Cinclus 9: 74–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, Ó.K. 1999. Gyrfalcon predation on ptarmigan: Numerical and functional responses. Journal of Animal Ecology 68: 1034–1050.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, Ó.K. 2011. Harvest and population change of Rock Ptarmigan in Iceland. Abstract. In Gyrfalcons and ptarmigan in a changing world, vol. II, ed. R.T. Watson, T.J. Cade, M. Fuller, G. Hunt, and E. Potapov, 71. Boise: The Peregrine Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potapov, R., and R. Sale. 2013. Grouse of the world. London: New Holland Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranta, E., J. Lindstrom, H. Linden, and P. Helle. 2008. How reliable are harvesting data for analyses of spatio-temporal population dynamics? Oikos 117: 1461–1468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team. 2017. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/.

  • Revermann, R., H. Schmid, N. Zbinden, R. Spaar, and B. Schröder. 2012. Habitat at the mountain tops: How long can Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta helvetica) survive rapid climate change in the Swiss Alps? A multi-scale approach. Journal of Ornithology 153: 891–905.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roesch, A., and R. Schmidbauer. 2014. WaveletComp: Computational Wavelet Analysis. Rpackageversion. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d6f6/6c94fe262be38806ce55ac60215954ff3fbc.pdf.

  • Sandercock, B.K., K. Martin, and S.J. Hannon. 2005. Life history strategies in extreme environments: Comparative demography of Arctic and alpine ptarmigan. Ecology 86: 2176–2186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, N.M., T.R. Christensen, and T. Roslin. 2017. A high Arctic experience of uniting research and monitoring. Earth’s Future 5: 650–654. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017ef000553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, N.M., R.A. Ims, T.T. Høye, O. Gilg, L.H. Hansen, J. Hansen, M. Lund, E. Fuglei, et al. 2012. Response of an Arctic predator guild to collapsing lemming cycles. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 279: 4417–4422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarzer, G. 2007. meta: An R package for meta-analysis. R News 7: 40–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scridel, D., M. Brambilla, K. Martin, A. Lehikoinen, A. Iemma, M. Anderle, S. Jahnig, E. Caprio, et al. 2018. A review and meta-analysis of the effects of climate change on Holarctic mountain and upland bird populations. Ibis 160: 489–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soininen, E., E. Fuglei, and Å.Ø. Pedersen. 2016. Complementary use of density estimates and hunting statistics: Different sides of the same story? European Journal of Wildlife Research 62: 151–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steen, J.B., H. Steen, N.C. Stenseth, S. Myrberget, and V. Marcstrom. 1988. Microtine density and weather as predictors of chick production in willow ptarmigan, Lagopus l. lagopus. Oikos 51: 367–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth, N.C., A. Shabbar, K.S. Chan, S. Boutin, E.K. Rueness, D. Ehrich, J.W. Hurrell, O.C. Lingjaerde, et al. 2004. Snow conditions may create an invisible barrier for lynx. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA 101: 10632–10634.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Storch, I. 2007. Grouse: Status survey and conservation action plan 2006–2010. Gland: IUCN; Fordingbridge: World Pheasant Association.

  • Tape, K.D., R. Lord, H.-P. Marshall, and R.W. Ruess. 2010. Snow-mediated ptarmigan browsing and shrub expansion in Arctic Alaska. Ecoscience 17: 186–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willebrand, T., M. Hornell-Willebrand, and L. Asmyr. 2011. Willow grouse bag size is more sensitive to variation in hunter effort than variation in willow grouse density. Oikos 120: 1667–1673.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S., and K. Martin. 2012. Influence of life history strategies on sensitivity, population growth and response to climate for sympatric alpine birds. BMC Ecology 12: 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6785-12-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, S.N. 2011. Fast stable restricted maximum likelihood and marginal likelihood estimation of semiparametric generalized linear models. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B (Statistical Methodology) 73: 3–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank multiple field workers that participated in the ptarmigan data collections, researchers that gave information on study sites not included in the present analysis, specifically K. Christie, C. Braun, S. Ebbert, I. Pokrovsky, D. Ehrich, A. Sokolov, N. Sokolov, the Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring Program for access to ecosystem data from Zackenberg, and Oddveig Ø. Ørvoll, Norwegian Polar Institute for graphical design of maps.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Postbox 6606, Langnes, 9296, Tromsø, Norway

    Eva Fuglei & Åshild Ønvik Pedersen

  2. Dep. of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University, 9019, Tromsø, Norway

    John-André Henden & Rolf A. Ims

  3. Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, 117 Riverside Drive, Corner Brook, NL, A2H 0A2, Canada

    Chris T. Callahan

  4. UMR 6249 Chrono-environnement, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 16 route de Gray, 25000, Besançon, France

    Olivier Gilg

  5. Groupe de recherche en Ecologie Arctique, 16 rue de Vernot, 21440, Francheville, France

    Olivier Gilg

  6. Section of Ecosystem Ecology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    Jannik Hansen

  7. IBPC SB RAS, Lenin Ave. 41, 677 980, Yakutsk, Russia

    Arkady P. Isaev

  8. Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibian and Fish, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Frankfurter Str. 91-93, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    Johannes Lang

  9. US National Park Service, 4175 Geist Road, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    Carol L. McIntyre

  10. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1800 Glenn Highway, Suite 2, Palmer, AK, 99567, USA

    Richard A. Merizon

  11. Komi Republic, Kommunisticheskaya 28, 167 982, Syktyvkar, Russia

    Oleg Y. Mineev & Yuri N. Mineev

  12. Yukon Research Ctr, Yukon College, PO Box 2799, Whitehorse, YT, Y1A 5K4, Canada

    Dave Mossop

  13. Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Urridaholtsstræti 6-8, 210, Gardabær, Iceland

    Olafur K. Nielsen

  14. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, 5685 Torgarden, 7485, Trondheim, Norway

    Erlend B. Nilsen

  15. Arctic Research Centre, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    Niels Martin Schmidt

  16. Chair for Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstraße 4, 79106, Freiburg, Germany

    Benoît Sittler

  17. Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Postboks 400, 2418, Elverum, Norway

    Maria Hørnell Willebrand

  18. Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Kathy Martin

Authors
  1. Eva Fuglei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John-André Henden
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chris T. Callahan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Olivier Gilg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jannik Hansen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Rolf A. Ims
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Arkady P. Isaev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Johannes Lang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Carol L. McIntyre
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Richard A. Merizon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Oleg Y. Mineev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Yuri N. Mineev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Dave Mossop
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Olafur K. Nielsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Erlend B. Nilsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Åshild Ønvik Pedersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. Niels Martin Schmidt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. Benoît Sittler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Maria Hørnell Willebrand
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  20. Kathy Martin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eva Fuglei.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (XLSX 36 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (PDF 59 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Fuglei, E., Henden, JA., Callahan, C.T. et al. Circumpolar status of Arctic ptarmigan: Population dynamics and trends. Ambio 49, 749–761 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01191-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01191-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation