No abstract

Linear developments such as roads, seismic lines, and pipeline rights-of-way are common anthropogenic features in the boreal forest of Alberta. These features may act as barriers to the movement of threatened woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). Thirty-six woodland caribou were captured and fitted with global positioning system collars. These collared caribou yielded 43 415 locations during the 12-month study period. We compared rates of crossing roads and seismic lines with rates at which caribou crossed simulated roads and seismic lines created using ArcInfo GIS. Seismic lines were not barriers to caribou movements, whereas roads with moderate vehicle traffic acted as semipermeable barriers to caribou movements. The greatest barrier effects were evident during late winter, when caribou crossed actual roads 6 times less frequently than simulated road networks. Semipermeable barrier effects may exacerbate functional habitat loss demonstrated through avoidance behaviour. This novel approach represents an important development in the burgeoning field of road ecology and has great potential for use in validating animal-movement models.

ABSTRACT. This case study from northeastern Alberta, Canada, demonstrates a fundamentally different approach to forest management in which stakeholders balance conservation and economic objectives by weighing current management options from the point of view of their long-term effects on the forest. ALCES®, a landscape-scale simulation model, is used to quantify the effects of the current regulatory framework and typical industrial practices on a suite of ecological and economic indicators over the next 100 yr. These simulations suggest that, if current practices continue, the combined activities of the energy and forestry industries in our 59,000 km 2 study area will cause the density of edge of human origin to increase from 1.8 km/km 2 to a maximum of 8.0 km/km 2 . We also predict that older age classes of merchantable forest stands will be largely eliminated from the landscape, habitat availability for woodland caribou will decline from 43 to 6%, and there will be a progressive shortfall in the supply of softwood timber beginning in approximately 60 yr. Additional simulations involving a suite of "best practices" demonstrate that substantial improvements in ecological outcome measures could be achieved through alternative management scenarios while still maintaining a sustainable flow of economic benefits. We discuss the merits of our proposed approach to land use planning and apply it to the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

Application of Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models without testing in areas other than where they were generated, and claims that habitat preferences have been proven, indicate that managers and scientists believe that habitat preferences of wildlife are fixed. We tested this hypothesis by comparing habitat preferences of 2 groups of moose (Alces alces) in northeastern Alberta, Canada, to which the same habitat classes were available but differed in relative abundance. We estimated habitat availability for each of 22 radiomarked, adult female moose and divided the animals into 2 groups based on the similarity of relative habitat class abundances. We measured habitat preference for individual moose from each group during 2 seasons in each of 2 years using a simple resource selection function (RSF). We used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare differences between groups. Preference of several habitat classes differed between groups, indicating that habitat preferences of moose are not fixed and change as the relative abundance of available habitat changes. Managers must recognize and account for this concept in the application of habitat prescriptions or management plans. JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 68(3):576-584

Meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis), a common nematode parasite in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and pathogenic for several species of ungulates in eastern North America, is not known to occur in the west. Heads of 1,902 white-tailed deer were examined for adult meningeal worm to determine geographic distribution of the parasite in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (Canada) and North Dakota (USA). Finding the parasite in a deer in eastern Saskatchewan near the Manitoba border established the current northern and western limits in Canada. Prevalence of infection was Ͻ1, 18.6, and 8.2% in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and North Dakota, respectively. Infected deer occurred throughout southern Manitoba and eastern North Dakota. Distribution appears to have changed little since the last published survey for P. tenuis in the region in 1972. We examined precipitation, temperature, deer density, and forest cover as likely correlates to prevalence and distribution of P. tenuis. Deer management units used for hunting purposes were the scale of analysis in the three jurisdictions. Presence of P. tenuis was positively correlated with precipitation during frost-free periods and deer density, and it was negatively correlated with winter and spring temperatures. Landscapes with Ͼ25 and Ͻ75% forest cover were most likely to have infected deer. Low rainfall and low density of white-tailed deer likely influence the westernmost limit of P. tenuis.