Muskox and caribou adaptation to grazing on the Angujaartorfiup Nunaa range in West Greenland
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7557/2.12.2.1027Keywords:
competition, muskoxen, caribou, alimentary tract development, grazing adaptation, GreenlandAbstract
In recent years (1970-90) the caribou population of the Angujaartorfiup Nunaa range has decreased from about 40 000 animals to 2000. Overgrazing presumably depleted the lichen resources on the range during the population peak. At the same time altogether 27 muskoxen introduced in 1962 and 1965 have proliferated and the muskox population reached 3000 animals in 1990. At the present monocots dominate the diet for both species. The alimentary tract of both muskox and caribou collected in the fall of 1990 had characteristics of grazing ruminants, e.g. relatively small caecum-colon compared to total alimentary size and large alimentary fill relative to body weight. Caribou had an omasum comparable in size to the grazing Svalbard reindeer whereas the omasum of the muskoxen in size, resembled that of domestic cattle. Both winter and summer samples showed highest ruminal hemicellulose and cellulose concentrations in the muskoxen, whereas lignin and nitrogen were equal in the two species. Conclusively our data suggest adaptation to grazing in both species, but more so in muskoxen than in caribou.Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain copyright and grant Rangifer irrevocable and non-exclusive right of publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY). This means, among other things, that anyone is free to copy and distribute the content, as long as they give proper credit to the author(s) and the journal. For further information, see Creative Commons website for human readable or lawyer readable versions.