Estimation of the carrying capacity in relation to Taimyr population of wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)
Abstract
The results of a study of the capacity of the environment of the north of Central Siberia in relation to the Taimyr population of wild reindeer are presented. The hypothesis assumed that the ecological niche of the Taimyr deer has a finite volume, at which point the population will experience a restriction of resources, after which its population will return to its original state. The basis of the assessment was the dynamics of the population size, revealed in its 20 aerial surveys during in 1966-2014. In the statistical treatment of these population size indices, the range of variation (R) between the maximum and minimum values of the variability of a number of the examined trait was 373000 animals (625,0 - 252,0). The level of the average pre-N population, with a statistical error (± 22,3), is for this population in the range from 421,5 to 555,3 thousand, that is, at least 421,5 and not more than 555,3 thousand individuals. The average numbers of the population on the basis of aerial survey data is 488,4 thousands reindeers. The values of the number of a multiyear number of different sex and age groups (n = 76) showed that the most variable group in the demographic structure of the Taimyr population is 1-2 years old animals (coefficient of variation 40,9%). At the same group, the greatest difference between the limits - 170 thousand (Limyoung growth = 30,3 ÷ 203,3) was revealed. Less than the other groups, the number of adult females in the Taimyr deer during monitoring was 15,6%. However, the magnitude of the fluctuation of the trait in this parameter as the mean square deviation indicates that the number of adult males is characterized by the smallest dispersion near its mean value. Fluctuations in the number of sex-age groups of reindeer are explained by the relationships in the system «population-environment», as well as the intensive impact of anthropogenic factors in the space of the area of animals, which are reflected in the population characteristic. The capacity of the medium (K) is determined by the logistic equation of Verhulst-Pirl. The data demonstrate: with the existing elimination factors and «environmental resistance», the maximum possible stationary population of this commercial population in this sector of the circumpolar range of the species is no more than 630 thousand wild reindeer. The maximum Malthusian parameter r for the Taimyr wild reindeer population is marked at 1,34 per year-1.
For citations:
Shapkin A..., Ivanova R... Estimation of the carrying capacity in relation to Taimyr population of wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Genetics and breeding of animals. 2018;(2):108-116. (In Russ.)
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