Functional Anatomy of the Omasum in High Arctic Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) and Norwegian Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus)

S. D. Mathiesen; M. A. Vader; V. B. Rœdergård; W. Sørmo; Ø.E. Haga; N. J. C. Tyler; R. R. Hofmann

doi:10.1186/bf03549653

Plasma Urea, Creatinine, and Urea:Creatinine Ratio in Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) and in Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) during Defined Feeding Conditions and in the Field

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology ◽

10.1086/324567 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 74 (6) ◽

pp. 907-916 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

H. Säkkinen ◽

A. Stien ◽

Ø. Holand ◽

K. Hove ◽

E. Eloranta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Plasma Urea ◽

Svalbard Reindeer ◽

Rangifer Tarandus Tarandus

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Partial seasonal migration in high-arctic Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z10-086 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 88 (12) ◽

pp. 1202-1209 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

B. B. Hansen ◽

R. Aanes ◽

B.-E. Sæther

Keyword(s):

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

High Arctic ◽

Population Trend ◽

Seasonal Migration ◽

Migration Route ◽

Free System ◽

Svalbard Reindeer ◽

The Poor ◽

Trade Offs ◽

The Rich

We examined seasonal range use and calving success in wild Svalbard reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Vrolik, 1829) on two contrasting ranges separated by risky barriers (open sea, thin sea ice, and glaciers). One (“poor”) range had a depleted lichen resource and negative reindeer population trend, whereas the neighbouring (“rich”) range was recently occupied with initially high lichen abundance and positive population trend. Winter foraging conditions limit survival and reproduction in this predator-free system and lichens are the preferred winter food by reindeer. Accordingly, marked female reindeer that switched between the ranges (“migrants”) spent most winters on the lichen-rich range, yet most summers on the poor range (possibly owing to fidelity to calving area). While facing high mortality risk along the migration route, migrants spending the winter on the rich range and subsequent summer on the poor range had improved calving success compared with residents on the poor range. The partial seasonal migration pattern diminished as lichens were reduced and reindeer carrying capacity reached on the rich range. Besides this apparent density-dependence in migratory behaviour, spatial strategy seems shaped by past experience and trade-offs between current survival (safe habitat) and future reproduction (food-rich habitat).

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Seasonal changes in the ruminal microflora of the high-arctic Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus).

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.50.1.144-151.1985 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 144-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

Author(s):

C G Orpin ◽

S D Mathiesen ◽

Y Greenwood ◽

A S Blix

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Changes ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

High Arctic ◽

Svalbard Reindeer

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Transferrin variation in caribou (Rangifer tarandus L.) on the Canadian Arctic islands

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z86-015 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 94-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

K. H. Røed ◽

H. Staaland ◽

E. Broughton ◽

D. C. Thomas

Keyword(s):

Genetic Distance ◽

Gel Electrophoresis ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

High Arctic ◽

Polyacrylamide Gel ◽

Common Allele ◽

Island Populations ◽

Svalbard Reindeer

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to analyse transferrin variation in caribou from the Canadian Arctic islands. Sixteen alleles were detected in Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi). The most common allele was TfG2, which increased in frequency from 0.167 at the Boothia Peninsula to 0.236 in the Peel population and 0.340 in the Parry population. The presence of this allele, which is the most common allele in Svalbard reindeer (R. t. platyrhynchus) and not detected in Norwegian reindeer (R. t. tarandus), suggests a common origin for the Peary caribou and the Svalbard reindeer. The large genetic distance in the transferrin locus between continental and island populations suggests the isolation of a High Arctic population in a northern refugium during the Wisconsin glaciation.

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Feeding-crater selection by high-arctic reindeer facing ice-blocked pastures

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z09-130 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 88 (2) ◽

pp. 170-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Brage Bremset Hansen ◽

Ronny Aanes ◽

Bernt-Erik Sæther

Keyword(s):

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

High Arctic ◽

Behavioural Plasticity ◽

Short Term ◽

Ground Ice ◽

Mild Winter ◽

Sparse Vegetation ◽

Svalbard Reindeer ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Snowpack Properties

Increased frequency of ground-icing events is likely to influence population dynamics in arctic ungulates, but their behavioural responses remain unexplored. During a record-mild winter with heavy rainfall, we analysed snow and ice characteristics and foraging trade-offs by Svalbard reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Vrolik, 1829) on a semi-isolated, recently occupied range. Snow depths were well within thresholds for cratering, but >90% of low altitudes was covered by a thick ice coat on the ground (median thickness 9 cm). Different strategies to cope with these conditions appeared. Part of the population sought mountainous habitat with very sparse vegetation. Individuals remaining at lower altitudes either used sparsely vegetated, wind-blown ridges partially covered with ice, or apparently applied olfactory senses to locate vegetation in ice-free microhabitat beneath the snowpack. No feeding craters were covered by ground ice, compared with most nearby controls. Following ground-ice avoidance, vegetation rather than snowpack properties determined fine-scale crater selection. Even under such poor conditions, the presence of medium- to high-quality forage (dwarf willow ( Salix polaris Wahlenb.) and fruticose lichens) rather than low-digestible, high-biomass forage (mosses) influenced cratering decisions. Behavioural plasticity combined with a gradually depleted lichen resource can partly buffer the reindeer against predicted climate change, at least in the short-term.

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Estimating the daily dry matter intake of Svalbard reindeer in late winter

Rangifer ◽

10.7557/2.7.1.701 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 29 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Nicholas Tyler

Keyword(s):

Dry Matter ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Subcutaneous Fat ◽

High Arctic ◽

Energy Requirements ◽

Late Winter ◽

Substantial Part ◽

Svalbard Reindeer ◽

Fat Reserves ◽

Alternative Suggestion

Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) store large reserves of subcutaneous fat during summer and autumn which, it has been suggested, might be sufficient to meet a substantial part of their energy requirements during winter. An alternative suggestion, however, is that fat is not their main source of energy after all and, moreover, that the principal role of their fat reserves is for enhancing reproductive success rather than for substituting for forage (Tyler, in press). Is it realistic to suggest that these high arctic herbivores could meet the greater part of their energy requirements in winter by feeding, given that the aerial biomass of available forage in Svalbard in late winter is very low? This question was investigated by using a simple model to predict what rate of food intake Svalbard reindeer would have to achieve to maintain energy balance in late winter. The results were surprisingly low: pregnant and nonpregnant females could mett their daily energy demands by consuming 3.1 and 1.7 g dry matter per grazing minute, respectively. This supports the suggestion that Svalbard reindeer could live principally off forage in winter.

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Transferrin variation and evolution of Canadian barren-ground caribou

Rangifer ◽

10.7557/2.10.3.883 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 385 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Knut H. Røed ◽

D. C. Thomas

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Allele Frequency ◽

Gel Electrophoresis ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

High Arctic ◽

Ancestral Population ◽

Allele Frequency Distribution ◽

Frequency Pattern ◽

Barren Ground ◽

Svalbard Reindeer

Blood samples were obtained from 95 barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) of the Beverly herd in Northwest Territories, Canada. Polyacrylamid gel electrophoresis was used to score for genetic variation in the locus coding for transferrin. The pattern of allele frequency distribution are compared with previously reported values of Eurasian tundra reindeer (R.t. tarandus), Alaska caribou (R.t. granti), Peary caribou (R.t. pearyi), and Svalbard reindeer (R.t. platyrhynchus). In the Beverly herd a total of 21 different transferrin alleles were detected. The amount of genetic variation was higher in the Canadian barren-ground caribou than what has been detected in other subspecies of reindeer/caribou. Highly gene-tical differences in the allele frequencies were detected between the Canadian barren-ground caribou and the other subspecies. The genetic identity analyses indicates approximately the same amount of genetic differentiation when the Canadian barren-ground caribou are compared with Alaska caribou as with the Peary caribou. The allele frequency pattern could be explained by a possible origin of the Canadian barren-ground caribou from an ancestral population which was genetical influenced by animals surviving the We-ichselian glaciation in refugia both in high Arctic, in Beringia, and south of the ice sheet.

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Immobilization of Norwegian Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) and Svalbard Reindeer (R. t. platyrhynchus) with Medetomidine and Medetomidine-Ketamine and Reversal of Immobilization with Atipamezole

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica ◽

10.1186/bf03547531 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 479-488

Author(s):

N. J. C. Tyler ◽

R. Hotvedt ◽

A. S. Blix ◽

D. R. Sørensen

Keyword(s):

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Svalbard Reindeer ◽

Rangifer Tarandus Tarandus

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Seasonal changes in the cecal microflora of the high-arctic Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus).

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.53.1.114-118.1987 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

pp. 114-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

S D Mathiesen ◽

C G Orpin ◽

Y Greenwood ◽

A S Blix

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Changes ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

High Arctic ◽

Svalbard Reindeer ◽

Cecal Microflora

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The diagnosis of early pregnancy and missed abortion in European and Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus and Rangifer tarandus platyrhyncus

Rangifer ◽

10.7557/2.2.1.421 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 26 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tata Ringberg ◽

Asbjørn Aakvaag

Keyword(s):

Early Pregnancy ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Missed Abortion ◽

Peripheral Plasma ◽

Delayed Implantation ◽

Svalbard Reindeer ◽

Rangifer Tarandus Tarandus

Progesterone levels in peripheral plasma from a total of 38 pregnant an non-pregnant Norwegian and Svalbard reindeer (R. tarandus tarandus and R. t. platyrhyncbus, respectively), were measured 5 to 6 times between November and May, and the size of 18 corresponding fetuses determined. The serum levels of progesterone were similar in the two subspecies, and increased from 1.5 nmol/1 (non-pregnant level) to 10—30 nmol/1 in November in pregnant animals. A maximum of 40—80 nmol/1 was reached in April whereafter the levels declined as time of delivery (beginning of June) approached. Animals with «missed» abortions had progesterone levels in serum of 5—6 nmol/1 in November. The size of the fetuses in November (average 3.7 and 30.7 mm) makes delayed implantation in reindeer unlikely.Tidlig diagnostisering av drektighet og skjult abort i europeisk rein og Svalbardrein (Rangifer tarandus tarandus og Rangifer tarandus platyrhuncus).Abstract in Norwegian / Sammendrag: Progesteron er det viktigste drektighetshormon hos pattedyr, og allerede tidlig i drektighetsperioden kan man hos en rekke arter påvise en økning i konsentrasjonen av dette hormon i blodet. Det har vært diskutert om det samme var tilfelle hos rein. Hvis det var så, ville det være mulig ved hjelp av en enkelt blodprøve på høsten å bestemme om dyret var drektig eller ei, og således ha et bedre grunnlag for å velge ut simler for slakt. Formålet med de forsøkene som er beskrevet i denne artikkel var derfor å måle progesteron-verdiene i blodet hos drektige og ikke-drektige simler for å se om de førstnevnte hadde høyere nivå, og dernest å se om det var en sammenheng mellom fosterets størrelse og progesteron-nivået. Til forsøkene ble det brukt tretti V2—2V2 år gamle simler fra reineier John Nordfjells flokk på Røros, samt åtte Svalbard-rein simler. Fra de norske rein ble blodprøver og fostre samlet under slaktning d. 26. november 1979, og fra Svalbard-reinen ble det tatt blodprøver 5—6 ganger mellom januar og mai 1980. Svalbard-reinen ble ikke slaktet, og i begynnelsen av juni nedkom 3 av dem med kalv. Fostrene fra de norske rein ble veiet og målt etter fixering i formalin. Blodprøvene av samtlige dyr ble analysert for innhold av progesteron på Sentrallaboratoriet Aker Sykehus, Oslo. Det ble funnet at progesteron-verdiene økte fra 1.5 nmol/lhos ikke-drektige dyr til 10—30 nmol i november og 40—80 nmol/1 i april hos drektige dyr. Hos simler, som hadde mistet kalven (abortert) var verdiene 5—6 nmol i november. Det ble også funnet at det ikke var noen sammenheng mellom fosterets størrelse og simlas progesteron-nivå i blodet. Den gjennomsnittlige (antall fostre = 18) fosterlengde i november var 30.7 mm og fostervekt 3.7 g.Tiineyden ja sikion varhaiskuoleman varhaisesta diagnostisoimisesta eurooppalaisella porolla ja Huippuvuorten peuralla (Rangifer tarandus tarandus ja Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus).Abstract in Finnish / Yhteenveto: Progesteroni on nisakkäiden tärkein raskaushormoni ja jo heti raskauden alussa voidaan monilla lajeilla osoittaa veressä tämän hormonin konsentraation kohoaminen. On pohdittu, olisiko tilanne sama myös poron suhteen. Jos niin olisi, olisi mahdollista yksinkertaisen syksyllä otettavan verinäytteen perusteella määrittää onko eläin tiineenä vai ei ja siten hankkia paremmat perusteet teurasvaadinten valinnalle. Nyt tässä artikkelissa selostettavien kokeiden tarkoituksena oli mitata tiineiden ja mahojen vaadinten veren progesteroni-arvo, jotta voitaisiin havaita, olisiko ensiksimainitun arvo korkeampi kuin viimeksimainitun ja edelleen olisiko progesteronitason ja sikiön koon välillä mahdollisesti tietty riippuvuus. Kokeissa käytettiin 30, iältään 0,5—2,5 vuotiasta Rørosilaisen poronomistaja John Nordfjellin laumaan kuuluvaa vaadinta sekä kahdeksan Huippuvuorten peura-vaadinta. Norjalaisista poroista otettiin verinäytteet ja sikiöt, kun eläimet teurastettiin 26. marraskuuta 1979. Huippuvuorten peuroista verinäytteitä otettiin 5—6 kertaa tammikuun ja toukokuun välisenä aikana 1980. Peuroja ei teurastettu ja kesäkuun alussa kolme niistä synnytti vasan. Norjalaisten porojen sikiöt punnittiin ja mitattiin formaliinifikseerauksen jälkeen. Kaikkien eläinten verinäytteet analysoitiin progesteronin määrittämiseksi Aker-sairaalan keskuslaboratoriossa Oslossa. Poroilla, jotka eivät olleet tiineinä, havaittiin progesteronitason kohoaminen 1.5nmol/l-arvostalukemaan 10-30 nmol marraskuussa ja tiineillä arvoon 40-80 nmol/1 huhtikuussa. Vaatimilla, jotka olivat luoneet sikiönsä, arvo oli 5-6 nmol/1 marraskuussa. Kokeissa todettiin edelleen, että sikiön koon ja vaatimen veren progesteroni-tason välillä ei ollut yhteyttä. Keskimääräinen sikiön pituus (18 sikiötä) marraskuussa oli 30.7 mm ja paino 3.7 g.

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