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The '''Svalbard reindeer''' (''Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus'') is a [[subspecies]] of the [[reindeer]] found on the [[Svalbard]] archipelago of Norway. They are the smallest subspecies of the reindeer. Males average 65–90 kg in weight, females 53–70 kg,<ref name=Aanes/> while for other reindeer generally body mass is 159–182 kg for males and 80–120 kg for females.<ref name=Alaska>[http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=caribou.main Caribou at the Alaska Department of Fish & Game]. Adfg.state.ak.us. Retrieved on 16 September 2011.</ref> |
The '''Svalbard reindeer''' (''Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus'') is a [[subspecies]] of the [[reindeer]] found on the [[Svalbard]] archipelago of Norway. They are the smallest subspecies of the reindeer. Males average 65–90 kg in weight, females 53–70 kg,<ref name=Aanes/> while for other reindeer generally body mass is 159–182 kg for males and 80–120 kg for females.<ref name=Alaska>[http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=caribou.main Caribou at the Alaska Department of Fish & Game]. Adfg.state.ak.us. Retrieved on 16 September 2011.</ref> |
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The subspecies is endemic to the islands of Svalbard, where it has lived for at least 5,000 years, and has become well adapted to the harsh climate,<ref>{{cite book |title=Norges nasjonalparker: Svalbard |last=Aasheim |first=Stein P. |authorlink=Stein P. Aasheim |year=2008 |publisher=Gyldendal |location=Oslo |language=Norwegian |isbn=978-82-05-37128-6 |pages=34–36 }}</ref><ref name=nfl>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Svalbardrein, Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Vrolik |first= |last= |encyclopedia=Norsk Fjelleksikon |editor-last=Lauritzen | editor-first=Per Roger | editor-link=Per Roger Lauritzen |year=2009|publisher=Friluftsforlaget |language=Norwegian |isbn=978-82-91-49547-7}}</ref> being found on nearly all non-glaciated areas of the archipelago. By 1925 they had almost gone extinct due to over-hunting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Over recent decades their population had increased. In Hornsund, they began occurring regularly only since the 1990s, however, their local population is still small and does not exceed 20 individuals<ref>https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/3375</ref>. It is the northernmost living herbivore mammal in the world.<ref name=Aanes>{{cite web|author=R. Aanes|title=Svalbard reindeer|publisher=Norwegian Polar Institute|url=http://npweb.npolar.no/english/arter/svalbardrein|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216000640/http://www.npolar.no/en/species/svalbard-reindeer.html|archive-date=16 Feb 2018}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=March 2018}}{{dubious||date=March 2018|reason=It is more to the south than the Peary Caribou of Ellesmere Island (82 degrees North), Canada, see "Peary Caribou" article.}} They are the only large grazing mammal in the European High Arctic, and this makes them exceptional for studies concerning the introduction of pollutants to changing ecosystems. During the short Arctic summer, Svalbard reindeer feed on a lush tundra vegetation of vascular plants, including grasses, herbs, sedges and deciduous shrubs in the lowland plains and valleys, to accumulate fat for the winter.<ref>https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs00300-016-1990-2.pdf</ref> The fur of Svalbard Reindeer contains elements and chemicals picked up from the vegetation they digest. They are relatively sedentary, and are thus highly vulnerable to changes in local conditions.<ref>Pacyna, A., Koziorowska, K., Chmiel, S., Mazerski, J., & Polkowska, Z. (2018). Svalbard reindeer as an indicator of ecosystem changes in the Arctic terrestrial ecosystem. Chemosphere, 203, 209-218. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.03.158</ref> |
The subspecies is endemic to the islands of Svalbard, where it has lived for at least 5,000 years, and has become well adapted to the harsh climate,<ref>{{cite book |title=Norges nasjonalparker: Svalbard |last=Aasheim |first=Stein P. |authorlink=Stein P. Aasheim |year=2008 |publisher=Gyldendal |location=Oslo |language=Norwegian |isbn=978-82-05-37128-6 |pages=34–36 }}</ref><ref name=nfl>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Svalbardrein, Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Vrolik |first= |last= |encyclopedia=Norsk Fjelleksikon |editor-last=Lauritzen | editor-first=Per Roger | editor-link=Per Roger Lauritzen |year=2009|publisher=Friluftsforlaget |language=Norwegian |isbn=978-82-91-49547-7}}</ref> being found on nearly all non-glaciated areas of the archipelago. By 1925 they had almost gone extinct due to over-hunting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Over recent decades their population had increased. In Hornsund, they began occurring regularly only since the 1990s, however, their local population is still small and does not exceed 20 individuals<ref>https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/3375</ref>. It is the northernmost living herbivore mammal in the world.<ref name=Aanes>{{cite web|author=R. Aanes|title=Svalbard reindeer|publisher=Norwegian Polar Institute|url=http://npweb.npolar.no/english/arter/svalbardrein|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216000640/http://www.npolar.no/en/species/svalbard-reindeer.html|archive-date=16 Feb 2018}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=March 2018}}{{dubious||date=March 2018|reason=It is more to the south than the Peary Caribou of Ellesmere Island (82 degrees North), Canada, see "Peary Caribou" article.}} They are the only large grazing mammal in the European High Arctic, and this makes them exceptional for studies concerning the introduction of pollutants to changing ecosystems. During the short Arctic summer, Svalbard reindeer feed on a lush tundra vegetation of vascular plants, including grasses, herbs, sedges and deciduous shrubs in the lowland plains and valleys, to accumulate fat for the winter.<ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs00300-016-1990-2.pdf | doi=10.1007/s00300-016-1990-2| title=DNA extracted from faeces as a source of information about endemic reindeer from the High Arctic: Detection of Shiga toxin genes and the analysis of reindeer male-specific DNA| journal=Polar Biology| volume=40| issue=3| pages=659–666| year=2017| last1=Zielińska| first1=Sylwia| last2=Kidawa| first2=Dorota| last3=Stempniewicz| first3=Lech| last4=Łoś| first4=Marcin| last5=Łoś| first5=Joanna M.}}</ref> The fur of Svalbard Reindeer contains elements and chemicals picked up from the vegetation they digest. They are relatively sedentary, and are thus highly vulnerable to changes in local conditions.<ref>Pacyna, A., Koziorowska, K., Chmiel, S., Mazerski, J., & Polkowska, Z. (2018). Svalbard reindeer as an indicator of ecosystem changes in the Arctic terrestrial ecosystem. Chemosphere, 203, 209-218. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.03.158</ref> |
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They remain short-legged and have a relatively small, rounded head.<ref name="Aanes"/> Their fur is also lighter in colour and thicker during winter. The thickness of the coat contributes to the short-legged appearance and makes even starved animals appear fat in the winter. The males develop large antlers during the period from April to July and shed the velvet during August–September. Males lose their antlers in early winter. Females develop antlers starting in June and they are usually retained for a whole year.<ref name="Aanes"/> |
They remain short-legged and have a relatively small, rounded head.<ref name="Aanes"/> Their fur is also lighter in colour and thicker during winter. The thickness of the coat contributes to the short-legged appearance and makes even starved animals appear fat in the winter. The males develop large antlers during the period from April to July and shed the velvet during August–September. Males lose their antlers in early winter. Females develop antlers starting in June and they are usually retained for a whole year.<ref name="Aanes"/> |
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Revision as of 15:56, 5 December 2019
| Svalbard reindeer | |
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| Svalbard reindeer | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Genus: | Rangifer |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | R. t. platyrhynchus
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| Trinomial name | |
| Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus (Vrolik, 1829)
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The Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) is a subspecies of the reindeer found on the Svalbard archipelago of Norway. They are the smallest subspecies of the reindeer. Males average 65–90 kg in weight, females 53–70 kg,[2] while for other reindeer generally body mass is 159–182 kg for males and 80–120 kg for females.[3]
The subspecies is endemic to the islands of Svalbard, where it has lived for at least 5,000 years, and has become well adapted to the harsh climate,[4][5] being found on nearly all non-glaciated areas of the archipelago. By 1925 they had almost gone extinct due to over-hunting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Over recent decades their population had increased. In Hornsund, they began occurring regularly only since the 1990s, however, their local population is still small and does not exceed 20 individuals[6]. It is the northernmost living herbivore mammal in the world.[2][failed verification][dubious – discuss] They are the only large grazing mammal in the European High Arctic, and this makes them exceptional for studies concerning the introduction of pollutants to changing ecosystems. During the short Arctic summer, Svalbard reindeer feed on a lush tundra vegetation of vascular plants, including grasses, herbs, sedges and deciduous shrubs in the lowland plains and valleys, to accumulate fat for the winter.[7] The fur of Svalbard Reindeer contains elements and chemicals picked up from the vegetation they digest. They are relatively sedentary, and are thus highly vulnerable to changes in local conditions.[8]
They remain short-legged and have a relatively small, rounded head.[2] Their fur is also lighter in colour and thicker during winter. The thickness of the coat contributes to the short-legged appearance and makes even starved animals appear fat in the winter. The males develop large antlers during the period from April to July and shed the velvet during August–September. Males lose their antlers in early winter. Females develop antlers starting in June and they are usually retained for a whole year.[2]
Some 200 reindeer were found starved to death in July 2019, apparently due to low precipitation related to climate change.[9]
References
- ^ Gunn, A. (2016). "Rangifer tarandus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. IUCN: e.T29742A22167140. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d R. Aanes. "Svalbard reindeer". Norwegian Polar Institute. Archived from the original on 16 Feb 2018.
- ^ Caribou at the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. Adfg.state.ak.us. Retrieved on 16 September 2011.
- ^ Aasheim, Stein P. (2008). Norges nasjonalparker: Svalbard (in Norwegian). Oslo: Gyldendal. pp. 34–36. ISBN 978-82-05-37128-6.
- ^ Lauritzen, Per Roger, ed. (2009). "Svalbardrein, Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Vrolik". Norsk Fjelleksikon (in Norwegian). Friluftsforlaget. ISBN 978-82-91-49547-7.
- ^ https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/3375
- ^ Zielińska, Sylwia; Kidawa, Dorota; Stempniewicz, Lech; Łoś, Marcin; Łoś, Joanna M. (2017). "DNA extracted from faeces as a source of information about endemic reindeer from the High Arctic: Detection of Shiga toxin genes and the analysis of reindeer male-specific DNA" (PDF). Polar Biology. 40 (3): 659–666. doi:10.1007/s00300-016-1990-2.
- ^ Pacyna, A., Koziorowska, K., Chmiel, S., Mazerski, J., & Polkowska, Z. (2018). Svalbard reindeer as an indicator of ecosystem changes in the Arctic terrestrial ecosystem. Chemosphere, 203, 209-218. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.03.158
- ^ More Than 200 Reindeer Found Dead in Norway, Starved by Climate Change By Mindy Weisberger. Live Science, July 29, 2019
External links
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