The current status of the Lena-Olenek population of wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L., 1758, Cervidae, Artiodactyla)
https://doi.org/10.31242/2618-9712-2024-29-1-129-142
Abstract
The rational use of wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L., 1758) based on reliable data on the number, distribution, age-sex composition, and herd size of the population is a challenging problem for hunting management. The purpose of this study was to characterize the current state of the Lena-Olenek tundra wild reindeer (LOWR) population. The counting of LOWR was based on the aerial census conducted from July 10 to 12, 2018; coordinate data from the GLONASS/Argos satellite tracker collars; stock materials from previous aerial surveys in the tundra of Yakutia. From the data obtained, the livestock of the LOWR was estimated to be 83,260. We specified that deer are housed in three distinct groups: broodstock, mixed, and male. The main livestock in the LOWR were females (44.2 %), calves (22.4 %), and juvenile animals 1–2 years old (17.5 %). Over 32 years, there was a decrease in 62.2% in the number of adult males and an increase in the number of fingerlings and juvenile animals. Since the middle of the last century, there has been a gradual increase in the number of LOWR from 21,000 to 95,000 deer in 2009 and a slight decrease to 83,200 deer in the last decade due to the exclusion of Taimyr reindeer migrants. The results of this study can be used to rationalize the use of wild reindeer resources and the allocation of quotas for production. Further census work will make it possible to monitor the state of the population over time.
Keywords
reindeer,
Lena-Olenek population,
reindeer sex and age structure,
aerial census,
satellite tracker collars
Supporting agencies: This study was conducted within the framework of the state assignment of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of the Russian Federation under the project “Populations and communities of animals of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems of the cryolithozone of the eastern sector of the Russian Arctic and Subarctic: diversity, structure and sustainability under natural and anthropogenic influences” (theme No. 0297-2021-0044, registration No. 121020500194-9).
About the Authors
E. V. Kirillin
Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Kirillin Egor Vladimirovich, Cand. Sci. (Biol.), Senior Researcher
ResearcherID: ADO-7753-2022, Scopus Author ID: 42161719500
Yakutsk
N. V. Mamaev
Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Mamaev Nikolay Viktorovich, Junior Researcher
ResearcherID: R-7952-2018, Scopus Author ID: 57191052875
Yakutsk
V. V. Stepanova
Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Stepanova Valentina Valerianovna, Cand. Sci. (Biol.), Senior Researcher
ResearcherID: K-3068-2018, Scopus Author ID: 57197334628
Yakutsk
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Review
For citations:
Kirillin E.V., Mamaev N.V., Stepanova V.V. The current status of the Lena-Olenek population of wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L., 1758, Cervidae, Artiodactyla). Arctic and Subarctic Natural Resources. 2024;29(1):129-142. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31242/2618-9712-2024-29-1-129-142
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