Ptarmigan Populations across the Arctic

A ptarmigan in its white plumage stands out against a blue-sky day in the Arctic.

Several species of ptarmigan are found across the circumpolar Arctic. They are well adapted to life in the Arctic and their worldwide population is estimated to be around 8 million. Across their range they are hunted by people and preyed upon by owls, foxes, and lynx.

Little is known about the population status and trend of the Rock Ptarmigan and Willow Ptarmigan. This study compiled information from 90 study sites across 7 Arctic countries to see how their populations were doing. In the future, citizen science efforts may be helpful to keep a closer watch on ptarmigan populations.

Circumpolar status of Arctic ptarmigan: Population dynamics and trends

Abstract

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) are Arctic birds with a circumpolar distribution but there is limited knowledge about their status and trends across their circumpolar distribution. Here, we compiled information from 90 ptarmigan study sites from 7 Arctic countries, where almost half of the sites are still monitored. Rock ptarmigan showed an overall negative trend on Iceland and Greenland, while Svalbard and Newfoundland had positive trends, and no significant trends in Alaska. For willow ptarmigan, there was a negative trend in mid-Sweden and eastern Russia, while northern Fennoscandia, North America and Newfoundland had no significant trends. Both species displayed some periods with population cycles (short 3–6 years and long 9–12 years), but cyclicity changed through time for both species. We propose that simple, cost-efficient systematic surveys that capture the main feature of ptarmigan population dynamics can form the basis for citizen science efforts in order to fill knowledge gaps for the many regions that lack systematic ptarmigan monitoring programs.

Fuglei, E., J. A. Henden, C. T. Callahan, O. Gilg, J. Hansen, R. A. Ims, A. P. Isaev, J. Lang, C. L. McIntyre, R. A. Merizon, O. Y. Mineev, Y. N. Mineev, D. Mossop, O. K. Nielsen, E. B. Nilsen, A. O. Pedersen, N. M. Schmidt, B. Sittler, M. H. Willebrand, and K. Martin. 2018. Circumpolar status of Arctic ptarmigan: Population dynamics and trends. Ambio DOI 10.1007/s13280-019-01191-0.

Explore more in Ambio 49(3), March 2020: Special Issue: Terrestrial biodiversity in a rapidly changing Arctic.