Felles Fjellrev – Final conference

Introduction

09:00 – 09:15 Welcome to Felles fjellrev Arctic fox conference (Jukka Ikonen, Metsähallitus)

09:15 – 09:30 Felles fjellrev – Together for the Arctic fox – project overview (David Bell, County Administrative Board of Norrbotten)

Communication – Information materials

09:30 – 09:45 Information channels and materials produced by Felles fjellrev (Therese Wåtz, WWF Sweden)

Population status

09:45 – 10:00 Finland – current status of arctic fox (Jukka Ikonen, Metsähallitus)

10:00 – 10:15 Sweden – current status of arctic fox (Johan Wallen, Swedish Museum of Natural History)

10:15 – 10:30 Norway and Fennoscandian total population (Nina E. Eide, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research NINA)

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break

Conservation measures

11:00 – 11:15 Supplementary feeding – regional feeding station solutions (Tomas Bergström, County Administrative Board of Jämtland)

11:15 – 11:30 GPS tracking of released arctic foxes (Craig Jackson, NINA)

Interspecific competition

11:30 – 11:45 Managing red foxes in arctic fox habitat – What can we learn from GPS-collared individuals? (Dorothee Ehrich, UiT, The Arctic University of Norway)

11:45 – 12:00 Don’t feed the red fox – campaign (Petteri Tolvanen, WWF Finland)

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch break

Mapping arctic fox genetics and habitat requirements

13:00 – 13:15 Genetic population monitoring at individual level across borders (Karin Norén, Stockholm University)

Diseases

13:15 – 13:30 Screening for parvovirus and adenovirus in red fox and arctic fox using serum filter strips and chest cavity fluid (Andrea Miller, University of Inland Norway INN)

13:30 – 13:45 Disease Surveillance – Can eDNA analysis from scat samples be used to assess disease prevalence? (Kristine Ulvund, NINA)

13:45 – 14:00 Contingency plan for diseases in Arctic foxes – How can we respond to potential outbreaks? (Åsa Granberg, County Administrative Board of Västerbotten)

Rodent dynamics

14:00 – 14:15 Rodent dynamics in NW Lapland: implications for the arctic fox (Heikki Henttonen, Natural Resources Institute Finland LUKE)

Project continuation

14:15 – 14:30 Exit strategy – LIFE programme proposal. How do we continue collaborative efforts across national borders in Fennoscandia? (David Bell, County Administrative Board of Norrbotten)

14:30 – 15:00 Coffee break

Genetics

15:00 – 15:15 Loss of genetic variation and increased levels of inbreeding in the Fennoscandian Arctic fox population (Øystein Flagstad, NINA)

15:15 – 15:30 Strongly deleterious mutations influence reproductive output and longevity in an endangered population (Karin Norén, Stockholm University)

15:30 – 15:45 Optimizing the genetic composition of the Fennoscandian Arctic fox population through release and translocations (Lina Arntsen, NINA)
Future

15:45 – 16:00 Developing a Management Strategy Evaluation Framework for Arctic Fox Recovery (Inari Helle/Samu Mäntyniemi, Natural Resources Institute Finland LUKE)

16:00 – 16:30 Moving forward – how do we continue to keep the population growing (Anders Angerbjörn, Stockholm University)

16:30 Thank you and final words