Hair mineral levels as indicator of wildlife demographics?—a pilot study of muskoxen

Jesper Bruun Mosbacher; Jean-Pierre Desforges; Anders Michelsen; Sophia V.  Hansson; Mikkel Stelvig; Igor Eulaers; Christian Sonne; Rune Dietz; Bjørn Munro Jenssen; Tomasz Maciej  Ciesielski; Syverin Lierhagen; Trond Peder Flaten; Gaël  Le Roux; Marie R. Aggerbeck; Niels Martin Schmidt

doi:10.33265/polar.v41.8543

Jesper Bruun Mosbacher Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2067-2897
Jean-Pierre Desforges Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, The University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark; &Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6816-7697
Anders Michelsen Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; & Center for Permafrost, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9541-8658
Sophia V. Hansson Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (UMR- 5245), CNRS, Université de Toulouse, Castanet Tolosan, France
Mikkel Stelvig Copenhagen Zoo, Frederiksberg, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2272-7492
Igor Eulaers Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark; & Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7130-9932
Christian Sonne Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark; & Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5723-5263
Rune Dietz Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark; & Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9652-317X
Bjørn Munro Jenssen Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark; Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; & Department of Arctic Technology, University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-2191
Tomasz Maciej Ciesielski Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7509-1662
Syverin Lierhagen Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Trond Peder Flaten Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5202-2565
Gaël Le Roux Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (UMR- 5245), CNRS, Université de Toulouse, Castanet Tolosan, France
Marie R. Aggerbeck Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4851-2091
Niels Martin Schmidt Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark; & Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4166-6218

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.8543

Keywords: Demographics, minerals, population dynamics, wool, Ovibos moschatus, calf recruitment

Abstract

The tight linkage between mineral status and health and demographics in animals is well documented. Mineral deficiencies have been coupled to population declines in wildlife. Current practices typically rely on liver, kidney and/or serum samples to assess mineral levels. Such destructive sampling strategies are, however, not feasible for remote or endangered populations. Hair may constitute an alternative tissue, sampled through non-invasive means, to investigate mineral levels in wildlife. In the pilot study presented here, we examine whether mineral levels in hair samples from a well-studied muskox (Ovibos moschatus) population in High-Arctic Greenland are associated with a vital rate and may, therefore, serve as indicators of wildlife population demographics. We show that inter-annual variations in levels of three minerals—copper, selenium and molybdenum—are associated with fluctuations in annual calf recruitment, with poor recruitment in years of low mineral levels in hair. Local environmental conditions also varied with calf recruitment but appeared to be less robust predictors of calf recruitment than hair mineral levels. Our results suggest that hair mineral levels may serve as an indicator of vital demographic rates and, ultimately, of wildlife population trends.

This article has a related Corrigendum.

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