Svalbard reindeer numbers on the rise

In an unexpected twist, climate change is having a positive effect on the Norwegian reindeers of Svalbard. Populations in the Arctic Archipelago are thriving because of rising temperatures, with number of the Svalbard reindeer increasing by 30% in the last year. The total number of reindeer – including all births and deaths – in Adventdalen have been recorded annually since 1979, and year on year numbers have increased. The population of reindeer has increased in close parallel with winter warming, growing from around 600 animals in the early 1980s, to an average of 1,000 today. “Winter warming is widely held to be a major threat to reindeer across the arctic but, in the high arctic archipelago of Svalbard global warming has had the opposite effect,” said Dr Nicholas Tyler from the Norwegian Arctic University, who has led the study since 1979. “Our data provides remarkable confirmation of this counter intuitive observation.” This long-term study is one of a very few on animal populations and climate change that actually involves the animals being physically counted, rather than estimated. The annual census this year involved researchers from the University of Manchester, led by Dr Jonathan Codd and Nathan Thavarajah. The team found very little winter mortality and very high calving, with over 300 calves in the valley – the second highest number ever recorded. “The results revealed a remarkably successful year for Svalbard reindeer,” said Codd, programme director for zoology. “Despite very high numbers in 2013, the population increased by almost 30% and reached a new record of just over 1,300 animals, more than three times the population size in 1979 when the present series of counts began.” “The substantial increase in the numbers of reindeer is linked with frequent and pronounced periods of warm weather last winter,” he added. “In February the temperature rose above freezing for six days reaching a maximum of +4.2°C and the streets of the Norwegian settlement at Longyearbyen were reported to be awash with melt water.”