Large-scale changes in marine and terrestrial environments drive the population dynamics of long-tailed ducks breeding in Siberia.

ABSTRACT: Migratory animals experience very different environmental conditions at different times of the year, i.e., at the breeding grounds, during migration, and in winter. The long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis breeds in the Arctic regions of the northern hemisphere and migrates to temperate climate zones, where it winters in marine environments. The breeding success of the long-tailed duck is affected by the abundances of predators and their main prey species, lemmings Lemmus sibiricus and Dicrostonyx torquatus, whose population fluctuation is subject to climate change. In the winter quarters, long-tailed ducks mainly eat the blue mussel Mytilus edulis. We examined how North-west Siberian lemming dynamics, assumed as a proxy for predation pressure, affect long-tailed duck breeding success and ho

SUBMITTER: Rintala J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9296647 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature