Not logged in
PANGAEA.
Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science

Careau, Vincent; Lecomte, Nicolas; Bêty, Joël; Giroux, Jean-François; Gauthier, Gilles; Berteaux, Dominique (2008): (Table 1) Stage of the lemming cycle and nesting parameters of the greater snow geese between 1996-2005, Bylot Island. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.786411, Supplement to: Careau, V et al. (2008): Hoarding of pulsed resources: Temporal variations in egg-caching by arctic fox. Ecoscience, 15(2), 268-276, https://doi.org/10.2980/15-2-3097

Always quote citation above when using data! You can download the citation in several formats below.

RIS CitationBibTeX CitationShow MapGoogle Earth

Abstract:
Resource pulses are common in various ecosystems and often have large impacts on ecosystem functioning. Many animals hoard food during resource pulses, yet how this behaviour affects pulse diffusion through trophic levels is poorly known because of a lack of individual-based studies. Our objective was to examine how the hoarding behaviour of arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) preying on a seasonal pulsed resource (goose eggs) was affected by annual and seasonal changes in resource availability. We monitored foraging behaviour of foxes in a greater snow goose (Chen caerulescens atlanticus) colony during 8 nesting seasons that covered 2 lemming cycles. The number of goose eggs taken and cached per hour by foxes declined 6-fold from laying to hatching, while the proportion of eggs cached remained constant. In contrast, the proportion of eggs cached by foxes fluctuated in response to the annual lemming cycle independently of the seasonal pulse of goose eggs. Foxes cached the majority of eggs taken (> 90%) when lemming abundance was high or moderate but only 40% during the low phase of the cycle. This likely occurred because foxes consumed a greater proportion of goose eggs to fulfill their energy requirement at low lemming abundance. Our study clearly illustrates a behavioural mechanism that extends the energetic benefits of a resource pulse. The hoarding behaviour of the main predator enhances the allochthonous nutrients input brought by migrating birds from the south into the arctic terrestrial ecosystem. This could increase average predator density and promote indirect interactions among prey.
Keyword(s):
ipy
Coverage:
Latitude: 72.883300 * Longitude: -79.900000
Date/Time Start: 1996-01-01T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2005-01-01T00:00:00
Minimum Elevation: 40.0 m * Maximum Elevation: 40.0 m
Event(s):
BY_Island2 * Latitude: 72.883300 * Longitude: -79.900000 * Elevation: 40.0 m * Location: Bylot Island, North West Territories, Canada * Method/Device: Biology (BIO)
Comment:
Data extracted in the frame of a joint ICSTI/PANGAEA IPY effort, see http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.150150
Parameter(s):
#NameShort NameUnitPrincipal InvestigatorMethod/DeviceComment
1DATE/TIMEDate/TimeGeocode
2NumberNoCareau, Vincentof years after lemming peak
3Chen caerulescens atlanticus, nests per areaC. caerulescens atlanticus nests#/haCareau, Vincent
4Number of nestsNests#Careau, Vincentmonitored
5Chen caerulescens atlanticus, egg laying dateC. caerulescens atlanticus egg layingCareau, Vincent
6Chen caerulescens atlanticus, hatching dateC. caerulescens atlanticus hatchingCareau, Vincent
7Time coverageCoverageCareau, Vincent
8Time in hoursTimehCareau, Vincentobservation effort
Size:
56 data points

Download Data

Download dataset as tab-delimited text — use the following character encoding:

View dataset as HTML