Moshøj, C.M., Forchhammer, M. & Aastrup, P. 2011: Temporal and spatial variations in the long-term fluctuations of wildlife populations in Greenland. National Environmental Research Institute, Aarhus University. 34 pp. – NERI Technical Report No. 808.
Populations of fish, birds and mammals in Greenland display distinct fluctuations, which may vary considerably over time and space. Climatic variability may be one causal factor greatly affecting the abundance of arctic animals. Indeed, climate change impacts raise the questions of speed and magnitude of change in species and, thus, the abilities and opportunities for Greenland’s indigenous communities to harvest and process animals for food. Other environmental changes, such as rapid social and cultural shifts may also affect the utilisation of natural resources, and in turn their impact on wildlife populations. The data presented in this report date back more than 100 years and consist of accounts of skins and other products purchased from Greenlandic hunters by the Royal Greenland Trade Department (Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel, KGH). These hunting records represent a unique time series for retrospective description and analyses of annual and decadal fluctuations in relation to long-term climatic data, environmental factors and temporal variations in social and demographic parameters in the existing society. In this report we provide a historical account for the spatio-temporal dynamics of wildlife in Greenland, a description of data sources, and exemplify the potential use and significance of this data.
Full report in PDF-format (3,19 MB)
