The tight linkage between mineral status and health and demographics in animals is well documented. Mineral deficiencies have been coupled to population declines in wildlife. Current practices typically rely on liver, kidney and/or serum samples to assess mineral levels. Such destructive sampling strategies are, however, not feasible for remote or endangered populations. Hair may constitute an alternative tissue, sampled through non-invasive means, to investigate mineral levels in wildlife. In the pilot study presented here, we examine whether mineral levels in hair samples from a well-studied muskox (Ovibos moschatus) population in High-Arctic Greenland are associated with a vital rate and may, therefore, serve as indicators of wildlife population demographics. We show that inter-annual variations in levels of three minerals—copper, selenium and molybdenum—are associated with fluctuations in annual calf recruitment, with poor recruitment in years of low mineral levels in hair. Local environmental conditions also varied with calf recruitment but appeared to be less robust predictors of calf recruitment than hair mineral levels. Our results suggest that hair mineral levels may serve as an indicator of vital demographic rates and, ultimately, of wildlife population trends.

动物的矿物质状况与健康和人口统计数据之间的紧密联系有据可查。矿物质缺乏与野生动物数量下降有关。目前的做法通常依靠肝脏、肾脏和/或血清样本来评估矿物质水平。然而，这种破坏性的采样策略对于偏远或濒临灭绝的人群是不可行的。头发可能构成另一种组织，通过非侵入性方式取样，以研究野生动物的矿物质水平。在这里介绍的试点研究中，我们检查了来自经过充分研究的麝香（Ovibos moschatus) 高北极格陵兰岛的人口与生命率相关，因此可以作为野生动物种群人口统计的指标。我们表明，三种矿物质（铜、硒和钼）水平的年际变化与犊牛年度补充量的波动有关，在毛发中矿物质含量低的年份补充量较差。当地的环境条件也随着小牛的招募而变化，但似乎比毛发矿物​​质水平更能预测小牛的招募。我们的研究结果表明，毛发矿物质水平可以作为重要人口统计比率的指标，并最终作为野生动物种群趋势的指标。