Supplementary feeding may mitigate other stressors such as inadequate access to forage due to high population density or climatic conditions. Within the Fennoscandian reindeer husbandry there exists large contrasts in the extent in supplementary feeding is applied. This is believed to affect productivity. It has been reported that short-term improved winter conditions do lead to increased female reproductive allocation, whereas winter long-term supplementary feeding results in females allocating more resources to reproduction. Indeed, reindeer’s capabilities of tracking consistent changes in winter conditions have bearings for understanding their risk sensitive reproductive strategy. Such environmental buffering have lead to the conclusion that reindeer have adopted a risk averse reproductive strategy where the females tend to prioritize enough resources for themselves to secure own survival at the expense of reproduction.
Reindeer husbandry in a Globalizing North – resilience, adaptations and pathways for actions
