Climate events can synchronize fluctuations in predator and prey populations, a study in the Arctic’s Svalbard archipelago finds. In particularly wet winters, herbivore populations dwindle. Rain seeps through the snow and encases ground vegetation in ice, making it hard for species such as the Svalbard rock ptarmigan (left) and the Svalbard reindeer (right) to find food. And after a time lag, populations of arctic foxes, which are carnivores, drop as the abundance of their prey changes, the researchers report January 18 in Science. —Erin Wayman Credit: Nicolas Lecomte/Norwegian Polar Institute
Found in: Climate Change and Environment