Mass deaths of reindeer on Yamal peninsula might be linked to climate change, scientists believe
10 May 2021
Thousands of domestic and wild animals perished because they couldnât get to forage locked under ice.
First reports about winter rains followed by lengthy spells of extremely cold weather on Yamal appeared in December 2020. Picture:
New ideas to rescue reindeer herding are urgently needed for the Yamal peninsula, said members of the scientific expedition that just returned from the trip to its northern tundra.
‘The perished reindeer were observed all around the northern tundra, among them were wild reindeer who also suffered from icing and lack of forage. Herders showed us that their hooves were worn out because they had to dig through ice so much’, said researchers Alexandra Terekhina and Alexander Volkovitsky from the Arctic Research Station in Labytnangi, part of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology.
Credit: University of Arkansas
New findings on the diet of Arctic foxes, determined by the condition of their teeth, show how varying climate conditions in the Arctic affect the animals that live there.
In a study published in
Polar Biology, Peter Ungar, Distinguished Professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas, and several co-authors analyzed tooth breakage and wear - both gross and micro - of Arctic foxes from Russia s Yamal Peninsula.
Studying the effect of varying climate conditions within this region helps scientists understand the impact of climate change on vulnerable animals and could explain future responses and adaptation, given the warming trend and thawing in Arctic areas. The researchers study is the first to combine dental proxies for short-term, or seasonal, and long-term, or lifetime, diet to better understand how resource depletion affects species differently in different locations within the Arctic.