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. 2020 Mar;49(3):805-819.
doi: 10.1007/s13280-019-01205-x. Epub 2019 Jun 11.

Muskox status, recent variation, and uncertain future

Christine Cuyler  1 , Janice Rowell  2 , Jan Adamczewski  3 , Morgan Anderson  4 , John Blake  5 , Tord Bretten  6 , Vincent Brodeur  7 , Mitch Campbell  8 , Sylvia L Checkley  9 , H Dean Cluff  10 , Steeve D Côté  11 , Tracy Davison  12 , Mathieu Dumond  13 , Barrie Ford  14 , Alexander Gruzdev  15 , Anne Gunn  16 , Patrick Jones  17 , Susan Kutz  9 , Lisa-Marie Leclerc  18 , Conor Mallory  19 , Fabien Mavrot  9 , Jesper Bruun Mosbacher  9 , Innokentiy Mikhailovich Okhlopkov  20 , Patricia Reynolds  21 , Niels Martin Schmidt  22 , Taras Sipko  23 , Mike Suitor  24 , Matilde Tomaselli  25 , Bjørnar Ytrehus  26
Affiliations

Muskox status, recent variation, and uncertain future

Christine Cuyler et al. Ambio. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are an integral component of Arctic biodiversity. Given low genetic diversity, their ability to respond to future and rapid Arctic change is unknown, although paleontological history demonstrates adaptability within limits. We discuss status and limitations of current monitoring, and summarize circumpolar status and recent variations, delineating all 55 endemic or translocated populations. Acknowledging uncertainties, global abundance is ca 170 000 muskoxen. Not all populations are thriving. Six populations are in decline, and as recently as the turn of the century, one of these was the largest population in the world, equaling ca 41% of today's total abundance. Climate, diseases, and anthropogenic changes are likely the principal drivers of muskox population change and result in multiple stressors that vary temporally and spatially. Impacts to muskoxen are precipitated by habitat loss/degradation, altered vegetation and species associations, pollution, and harvest. Which elements are relevant for a specific population will vary, as will their cumulative interactions. Our summaries highlight the importance of harmonizing existing data, intensifying long-term monitoring efforts including demographics and health assessments, standardizing and implementing monitoring protocols, and increasing stakeholder engagement/contributions.

Keywords: Abundance; Circumpolar; Drivers; Ovibos; Population status; Trends.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Global overview of current distribution and origin of muskox populations: endemic, translocated, and mixed. Translocated includes introduced and re-introduced, i.e., to range once occupied either in recent or distant past. Mixed is translocation to an area with endemic muskoxen. Numbering corresponds with Table 1, and indicates an administrative region, a management unit, or a population. The provided boundaries are guidelines, often reflecting administrative or political regions. They are not a precise distribution/extent for a specific population, e.g., since muskoxen can and do travel across sea-ice, even the islands are not strict boundaries. The muskox distribution in central Canada around 60°N is uncertain owing to anecdotal observations and low animal density. Populations 3, 7, 19, 34, and 36 originated as range expansions by translocated populations. Zackenberg Station is the red star in NE Greenland (see Electronic Supplementary Materials S1, Muskoxen: Past and present). Dashed line is the Arctic Circle
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Global overview of recent variation in muskox abundance. Numbering corresponds with Table 1 and indicates an administrative region or population. The provided boundaries are guidelines and not precise distributions of a given population. Zackenberg Station is the red star in NE Greenland (see Electronic Supplementary Materials S1, Muskoxen: Past and present). Dashed line is the Arctic Circle
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