Altitude, latitude and climate zone as determinants of mountain hare (Lepus timidus) coat colour change.

Local adaptation to annually changing environments has evolved in numerous species. Seasonal coat colour change is an adaptation that has evolved in multiple mammal and bird species occupying areas that experience seasonal snow cover. It has a critical impact on fitness as predation risk may increase when an individual is mismatched against its habitat's background colour. In this paper, we investigate the correlation between landscape covariates and moult timing in a native winter-adapted herbivore, the mountain hare (Lepus timidus), throughout Norway. Data was collected between 2011 and 2019 at 678 camera trap locations deployed across an environmental gradient. Based on this data, we created a Bayesian multinomial logistic regression model that quantified the correlations between landscape covariates and coat colour phenology and analysed among season and year moult timing variation. Our results demonstrate that mountain hare moult timing is strongly correlated with altitude and latitude with hares that live at higher latitudes and altitudes keeping their winter white coats for longer than their conspecifics that inhabit lower latitudes and altitudes. Moult timing was also weakly correlated with climate zone with hares that live in coastal climates keeping their winter white coats for longer than hares that live in continental climates. We found evidence of some among year moult timing variation in spring, but not in autumn. We conclude that mountain hare moult timing has adapted to local environmental conditions throughout Norway.

Small rodent monitoring at Birkebeiner Road, Norway.

Background: Northern small mammal populations are renowned for their multi-annual population cycles. Population cycles are multi-faceted and have extensive impacts on the rest of the ecosystem. In 2011, we started a student-based research activity to monitor the variation of small rodent density along an elevation gradient following the Birkebeiner Road, in southeast Norway. Fieldwork was conducted by staff and students at the University campus Evenstad, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, which has a long history of researching cyclic population dynamics. The faculty has a strong focus on engaging students in all parts of the research activities, including data collection. Small rodents were monitored using a set of snap trap stations. Trapped animals were measured (e.g. body mass, body length, sex) and dissected to assess their reproductive status. We also characterised the vegetation at trapping sites. New information: We provide a dataset of small rodent observations that show fluctuating population dynamics across an elevation gradient (300 m to 1,100 m a.s.l) and in contrasting habitats. This dataset encompasses three peaks of the typical 3-4-year vole population cycles; the number of small rodents and shrews captured show synchrony and peaked in years 2014, 2017 and 2021. The bank vole Myodesglareolus was by far (87%) the most common species trapped, but also other species were observed (including shrews). We provide digital data collection forms and highlight the importance of long-term data collection.

Exploitative Competition between Mountain Hare and Moose-Qualitative Effects on Hare Winter Forage?

Mountain hares (Lepus timidus) in Scandinavia are classified as Near Threatened in the Norwegian and Swedish Redlists. This is due to a possible population decline witnessed during the last decades in Scandinavia. Competition between large herbivores and mountain hares is one of several hypotheses that has been put forward to explain this decline. In a cafeteria trial we investigate the effects of previous moose (Alces alces) winter browsing on the food selection (i.e., biomass consumed, bites per minute and bitediameter) of downy birch (Betula pubescens) and goat willow (Salix caprea) by captive mountain hares. We find that mountain hares do not differentiate among previous browsing levels of downy birch, but have larger bite diameters of goat willow earlier browsed by moose, compared to non-browsed plants. Thus, effects of moose on mountain hare winter food quality seem to be limited. We highlight the need for studies focusing on (1) qualitative effects of moose browsing using wild mountain hares in a natural experimental design, and (2) quantitative effects of moose browsing on available mountain hare forage at a landscape scale during winter.

Disrupted trophic interactions affect recruitment of boreal deciduous and coniferous trees in northern Europe.

Loss of large carnivore populations may lead to increased population densities of large herbivores, and subsequent cascading effects on the composition, structure, and function of ecosystems. Using a macroecological approach based on studies in multiple boreal forest landscapes in the Baltic Sea region and Russia, we tested the hypothesis that disrupted trophic interactions among large carnivores and large herbivores affect the recruitment of both ecologically and economically valuable tree species. We measured damage levels on young trees and large herbivore density in 10 local landscapes representing a gradient from extinct to extant populations of both large carnivores and large herbivores. We also tested the alternative hypothesis that forest management intensity is correlated to reduced recruitment of these tree species. At the macroecological scale there was an inverse relationship between the number of large carnivores and large herbivores. This coincided with a steep gradient in browsing damage on the ecologically important aspen, rowan and sallow as hosts for specialized species, as well as the economically important Scots pine. In one landscape hunting had replaced the presence of carnivores. Mean damage levels of these four tree species were correlated with large herbivore abundance, but not with forest management intensity. We discuss the pros and cons of this macroecological approach, as well as the challenge of governing and managing trophic interactions at multiple scales.

Solving problems in social-ecological systems: definition, practice and barriers of transdisciplinary research.

Translating policies about sustainable development as a social process and sustainability outcomes into the real world of social-ecological systems involves several challenges. Hence, research policies advocate improved innovative problem-solving capacity. One approach is transdisciplinary research that integrates research disciplines, as well as researchers and practitioners. Drawing upon 14 experiences of problem-solving, we used group modeling to map perceived barriers and bridges for researchers' and practitioners' joint knowledge production and learning towards transdisciplinary research. The analysis indicated that the transdisciplinary research process is influenced by (1) the amount of traditional disciplinary formal and informal control, (2) adaptation of project applications to fill the transdisciplinary research agenda, (3) stakeholder participation, and (4) functional team building/development based on self-reflection and experienced leadership. Focusing on implementation of green infrastructure policy as a common denominator for the delivery of ecosystem services and human well-being, we discuss how to diagnose social-ecological systems, and use knowledge production and collaborative learning as treatments.

Vole preference of bilberry along gradients of simulated moose density and site productivity.

Browsing by large herbivores might either increase or decrease preference for the plant by other herbivores, depending on the plant response. Using a cafeteria test, we studied the preference by root voles (Microtus oeconomus [Pallas, 1776]) for bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) previously subjected to 4 levels of simulated moose (Alces alces [Linnaeus, 1758]) density. The different levels of moose density were simulated at population densities relevant for Fennoscandian conditions, in exclosures situated along a site productivity gradient. We expected: (i) voles to prefer bilberry from high productivity sites over low productivity sites; (ii) voles to prefer browsed bilberry, if plants allocate resources to compensatory growth or to avoid browsed bilberry if plants allocate resources to defense; (iii) these effects to increase with increasing simulated moose density; and (iv) the concentration of plant chemicals and the plant morphology to explain vole preference. Specifically, we predicted that voles would prefer: (i) plants with high nitrogen content; (ii) plants with low content of defensive substances; and (iii) tall plants with long shoots. Voles preferred bilberry from the high productivity sites compared to the low productivity sites. We also found an interaction between site productivity and simulated moose density, where voles preferred unbrowsed plants at low productivity sites and intermediate levels of browsing at high productivity sites. There was no effect of plant chemistry or morphology on vole preference. We conclude that moose browsing impacts the food preference of voles. With the current high densities of moose in Fennoscandia, this could potentially influence vole food selection and population dynamics over large geographical areas.

Heavy metal accumulation in arctic hares (Lepus arcticus) in Nunavut, Canada.

Accumulation of cadmium, mercury, lead, copper and zinc was studied in muscle, liver and kidney of 9 adult and 7 juvenile arctic hares (Lepus arcticus), collected in 2003 in the southwestern part of Nunavut, Canada. Our objective was to determine the level of heavy metal accumulation, and distribution among age groups and tissue. Concentrations of all metals varied among tissues, and concentrations of Cd, Hg and Zn were higher in adults compared to juveniles. We found correlations in metal content among tissues, and among metals in kidneys. We also found the hares to have low concentration of most heavy metals except cadmium. We suggest that the high cadmium levels might be caused by the local geology, and the hares being adapted to these levels. The low levels of the other metals are probably due to low input of atmospheric contaminants. Only one of the individuals had Cd content slightly above the maximum contaminant levels recommended for human consumption of meat. There were no levels in meat above the recommended maximum for the rest of the metals surveyed. However the Cd levels in liver and kidney are orders of magnitude higher than the recommended maximum, and consumption of these organs should be avoided.