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Arctic fox failed to move north at end of ice age

Study suggests animals may not migrate in response to rising temperatures.

Even the fast-moving arctic fox, used to trekking long distances, failed to retreat to cooler climes when global temperatures rose in the past, a new study suggests. The find dampens hopes that species will be able to adapt to climate change by moving towards the poles.

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Posted by Nicola Jones on April 10, 2007
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I don't find this particularly surprising. The same thing has been reported for certain "tundra" insect (Coleoptera) species in North America. Arctic foxes may also have to have coped with human hunters who, undoubtedly would have liked some extra warmth!

Posted by: Alan Morgan | April 10, 2007 02:34 PM

I would think that impact of human hunters who found european fox hides valuable would need to be taken into account before such a sweeping migration speculation should be made. The devastating impact of human hunting would be the first item I would suspect - with migration issues following far behind.

Posted by: William Ellison | April 10, 2007 03:13 PM

This study's premise is questionable. I am not aware of any studies that suggests that individual animals will migrate as a response to temperature changes. It seems likely that individuals will only move northward (or upward)to find food and shelter as their former habitats become less hospitable, adapt to those new conditions, or die. Is the author suggesting that species ranges will Not shift with climate? Certainly, those individuals of a species that live on the northern edge of a range will move slowly (over generations -- a factor that is not noted in this article) and possibly more slowly than those individuals that have to respond at the southern extreme (which are more likely to die off). These findings are hardly ground breaking. Individual foxes will die...how surprising! What will happen to the species relative to the PACE of change -- answer that question and you will have our attention.

Posted by: J. Nordgren | April 11, 2007 02:50 PM

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