Animals change their eating habits.
on popsicle” grass” alt=”Svalbard's reindeer were able to adapt to climate change with the help of “popsicle-like” grass” />
As the Arctic warms, there are growing concerns about reindeer – Santa's favorite riding animals . But in one remote corner – on Svalbard – reindeer are flourishing, reports The Guardian.
Higher temperatures accelerate the growth of plants, which gives reindeer more time to accumulate fat. In addition, studies have shown that they change their diet, switching to grasses, “like popsicles”, which break through ice and snow.
Read also: Global warming can change the color of lakes – scientists They inhabit almost all areas of the Svalbard archipelago that are not covered by glaciers, which is only 800 kilometers from the North Pole.
As in other regions of the Arctic, Svalbard has seen heavier snowfalls and more frequent rain on snow in recent years. In this case, the rain freezes on the snow, forming a crust that makes it difficult for deer to access food.
Concern about the further survival of Svalbard's reindeer arose against the background of reports of mass starvation of these animals in Russia, as well as the reduction of the reindeer population. in Canada and Alaska. But, no matter what, the population of these animals has recently flourished on the archipelago.
To find out the reasons for this, scientists from the University of Oulu in Finland studied blood samples of reindeer, which are collected annually at the end of winter for monitoring. By comparing the proportions of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in these samples, researchers can determine what plants the reindeer ate in the previous weeks.
The study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, showed that between 1995 and 2012 — a period marked by the normalization of snowfall, an increase in summer temperatures, and the growth of the reindeer population — there was a rejection of low-growing mosses in favor of herbaceous “cereal” plants.
According to scientists, these plants have straight stems that allow animals to access them even when they are covered by a centimeter layer of ice. could feed themselves even in these intense winter periods,” said the lead author of the study, Jeffrey Welker.
In addition, the growth of cereals is also promoted by higher soil temperature and abundant deer excrement. However, scientists note that nature is an “endless chain of related variables”, so some of the upcoming changes may be beneficial for reindeer, and some may harm them.
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