In northern latitudes, species that have adapted to snow cover by molting and changing pelage color will be particularly vulnerable to climate change, as predation levels may increase due to a mismatch with background coloration. Here, we investigated the synergistic effect of mammalian generalist predators (red foxVulpes vulpesand pine martenMartes martes) and the duration of snow cover on the abundance of a winter‐adapted species, the mountain hare (Lepus timidus). We analyzed 12 yr of data from 622 snow tracking lines in southeast Norway along a gradient in annual duration of snow‐covered ground. The mountain hare abundance index was positively related to the generalist predator abundance index, probably due to a combined numerical and functional response of the predators. The mountain hare abundance index was negatively associated with a short duration of snow cover, and this effect was stronger in areas with a high predator abundance index. Hence, we demonstrated a causal link between the mountain hare abundance index, predators, and the duration of snow cover. We expect declining mountain hare densities in the future caused by interactive effects of reduced duration of snow‐covered ground, potentially increasing generalist predator densities and the limited ability of mountain hares to adapt to the climate change‐induced molting mismatch.

There are two main international strategies concerning how to ensure a sustainable environment: one is to develop a globally bio-based economy, or bioeconomy, to meet the increased demand of goods and products to maintain our well-being and to reduce climate change. On the other hand, there is an aim to decrease the negative impacts on nature and natural habitats to conserve and maintain ecosystems and control the loss of biodiversity. There is a trade-off between these two strategies; as we increase the commitment to the bioeconomy by intensifying biomass production, we will simultaneously challenge biodiversity through the increased pressure on, and the utilization of, biological raw materials. Here, we first review and discuss the challenges and opportunities in terrestrial and marine ecosystems for the production of biomass for the bioeconomy. We focus on the trade-offs between economic sustainability on one hand, and environmental sustainability and resilience on the other hand. We conclude with a discussion of the various bioeconomy strategies. Finally, we present a conceptual model on how to sustainably develop the bioeconomies (by introducing the concept of optimizing the economic gain/ecological pain ratio) to be able to manage the biodiversity in a sustainable way.

Local adaptation to annually changing environments has evolved in numerous species. Seasonal coat colour change is an adaptation that has evolved in multiple mammal and bird species occupying areas that experience seasonal snow cover. It has a critical impact on fitness as predation risk may increase when an individual is mismatched against its habitat's background colour. In this paper, we investigate the correlation between landscape covariates and moult timing in a native winter‐adapted herbivore, the mountain hare (Lepus timidus), throughout Norway. Data was collected between 2011 and 2019 at 678 camera trap locations deployed across an environmental gradient. Based on this data, we created a Bayesian multinomial logistic regression model that quantified the correlations between landscape covariates and coat colour phenology and analysed among season and year moult timing variation. Our results demonstrate that mountain hare moult timing is strongly correlated with altitude and latitude with hares that live at higher latitudes and altitudes keeping their winter white coats for longer than their conspecifics that inhabit lower latitudes and altitudes. Moult timing was also weakly correlated with climate zone with hares that live in coastal climates keeping their winter white coats for longer than hares that live in continental climates. We found evidence of some among year moult timing variation in spring, but not in autumn. We conclude that mountain hare moult timing has adapted to local environmental conditions throughout Norway.

Climate change has resulted in a myriad of stressors to wild organisms. Phenotypic plasticity, including behavioral plasticity, is hypothesized to play a key role in allowing animals to cope with rapid climate change and mitigate its negative fitness consequences. Camouflage mismatch resulting from decreasing duration of snow cover presents a stressor to species that undergo coat color molts to maintain camouflage against seasonally changing backgrounds. Winter white animals appear highly conspicuous against dark, snowless background and experience increased predation‐induced mortality. Here, we evaluate the potential of behavioral plasticity to buffer against camouflage mismatch in mountain hares Lepus timidus in Scotland. We carried out field surveys in three populations over two years and found no evidence that hares modify their behaviors in response to increasing camouflage mismatch. Hares did not prefer to rest closer to light‐colored rocks or farther from conspecifics with increasing color contrast. Furthermore, whiter hares did not seek to rest closer to snowy backgrounds; rather, hares preferred to sit farther from snow. These results suggest that behavioral plasticity might not be a universal, rapid mechanism facilitating adaptation to climate change. Keywords: behavioral plasticity, camouflage, climate change, mountain hares, phenological mismatch