Consequences of repeated sarcoptic mange outbreaks in an endangered mammal population

Diseases and parasites are important drivers of population dynamics in wild mammal populations. Small and endangered populations that overlap with larger, reservoir populations are particularly vulnerable to diseases and parasites, especially in ecosystems highly influenced by climate change. Sarcoptic mange, caused by a parasitic mite (Sarcoptes scabiei), constitutes a severe threat to many wildlife populations and is today considered a panzootic. The Scandinavian arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is endangered with a fragmented distribution and is threatened by e.g., red fox (Vulpes vulpes) expansion, prey scarcity and inbreeding depression. Moreover, one of the subpopulations in Scandinavia has suffered from repeated outbreaks of sarcoptic mange during the past decade, most likely spread by red foxes. This was first documented in 2013 and then again 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021. We used field inventories and wildlife cameras to follow the development of sarcoptic mange outbreaks in this..., Study population
The sarcoptic mange epizootic occurred in the Swedish subpopulation Borgafjäll (65.05N 14.33 E) located at the border between Jämtland and Västerbotten counties in Sweden (Fig. 1a). The area consists of 1676 km2 sub-Arctic tundra and is surrounded by valleys with boreal forest. The arctic fox population in Borgafjäll has been under conservation actions since 2001, including supplementary feeding and red fox culling (Angerbjörn et al. 2013). Feeding stations containing commercial dog pellets are placed in close connection to active den sites. Since the conservation actions started, the number of litters has increased two-fold from early in the century until today (Wallén et al. 2021).
Disease appearance and monitoring
 The first suspected case of sarcoptic mange was observed the 14th of April 2013. This individual was utilised and sent to the Swedish Veterinary Institute (SVA) for autopsy which confirmed the diagnosis of sarcoptic mange (U130513-0007). After the discover..., , # Data from: Consequences of repeated sarcoptic mange outbreaks in an endangered mammal population

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### Description of the Data and file structure: Sheet 2004-2021

Column A: Borgafjäll area = den site
Column B: 2004 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data)
Column C: 2005 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data)
Column D: 2006 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data)
Column E: 2007 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data)
Column F: 2008= number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data)
Column G: 2009 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data)
Column H: 2010 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data)
Column I: 2011 = number o...