Trophic Mismatch and Its Consequences for Dynamics of an Arctic Herbivore

来自宾夕法尼亚州立大学和加州大学圣克鲁斯分校的科学家得到资助，研究驯鹿与它们的植物食物之间的营养错配现象。关键生活史事件的时间与北极食物供应和质量的季节性时间相匹配。随着植物出现的时间和生长对气候变化的反应发生变化，驯鹿的季节性周期--受其他季节性事件的制约--将受到挑战。对驯鹿生态中这种季节动态的调查将广泛适用于北极生物群的其他组成部分。产仔时间将在格陵兰岛Kangerlussuaq附近的一个地点进行调查，PI在那里有驯鹿产犊和植物生长的长期记录。不匹配的后果将在人口模型中进行探索。

Scientists from Pennsylvania State University and the University of California Santa Cruz have been funded to investigate the phenomenon of trophic mismatch in the relationship between caribou and their plant food. The timing of key life history events is matched to the seasonal timing of food availability and quality in the Arctic. As the timing of plant emergence and growth shifts in response to climate change, the seasonal cycle of caribou - constrained by other seasonal events - will be challenged. The investigation of such seasonal dynamics in caribou ecology will be broadly applicable to other components of the Arctic biota. The timing of calving will be investigated in Greenland in a site near Kangerlussuaq where the PI has a long term record of caribou calving and plant growth. The consequences of mismatch will be explored in population models.