Lack of Reproduction in Muskoxen and Arctic Hares Caused by Early Winter

Evidence of malnourished muskoxen was also found. Early winter weather and a consequent 50% reduction of the 1997 summer replenishment period appeared to be the most likely cause, giving rise to a new hypothesis about conditions that might cause adverse demographic effects in arctic herbivores.

The study area included a 150 km2 region of the Fosheim Peninsula in a 180o arc north of Eureka, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada (all within about 9 km of 80oN, 86oW). The area, extending from Eureka Sound to Remus Creek and from Slidre Fiord to Eastwind Lake, included shoreline, hills, lowlands, creek bottoms, and the west side of Blacktop Ridge. An associate, Layne Adams, and I spent 1-11 July 1998 in this area on all-terrain vehicles, following a pair of wolves Canis lupus (Mech, 1994).