Melting Arctic sea ice may be causing fewer caribou calf births and higher calf mortality in Greenland, researchers have discovered.
Biologists found plants that provide food for caribou calves in Greenland were starting their growing seasons earlier, due to a rise in temperatures linked to melting Arctic sea ice.
While there was a shift in the growing seasons of these plants, caribous were not adapting to these changes and were migrating into pastures that had passed their peak nutritional value.
While plants can change their growing seasons in response to temperature, caribou breeding cycles are triggered by daylight length.
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