A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Long-term snow-track indices of a Finnish native mesopredator declined while those of an invasive one increased
Authors: Selonen, Vesa; Toivonen, Pyry; Lindén, Andreas
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publishing place: BERLIN
Publication year: 2024
Journal: Scientific Reports
Journal name in source: Scientific Reports
Journal acronym: SCI REP-UK
Article number: 26190
Volume: 14
Number of pages: 11
eISSN: 2045-2322
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-77777-w
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-77777-w
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/470938124
Monitoring both native and invasive species is crucial for understanding their ecological impacts. However, obtaining reliable data can be challenging, especially for elusive species like mesopredators. This study utilized snow-track surveys in Finland (1989-2022) to examine population trends of the invasive raccoon dog and the native red fox. While raccoon dogs are known to reduce activity during cold weather, we demonstrated that accounting for temperature and snowfall allows for effective population trend estimation using snow-track data. Track accumulation decreased in cold and snowy weather more clearly for raccoon dogs than for red foxes. We also found that the track accumulation of the raccoon dog had significantly increased, while those of the red fox population had declined, particularly in southern parts of the country. Notably, raccoon dog snow-track numbers increased in northern regions, suggesting a potential for further range expansion under a warming climate. These findings reveal a concerning shift in Finland's mesopredators abundance due to the invasive species' success and the decline of the native species. Thus, the invasive raccoon dog is likely to have an increasing role in those northern ecosystems where it interacts with the native fauna.
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Funding information in the publication:
The study was funded by Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Sotka-project) and Research Council of Finland (project no. 357199 and 357200 to VS and AL, respectively). Open Access funding provided by University of Turku (UTU) including Turku University Central Hospital.
