Does Dust from Arctic Mines Affect Caribou Forage?

Leblanc, Sylvain G.; White, H. Peter; Prévost, C; Milakovic, Brian; Rock, Christine A.; Sharam, Greg; O’Keefe, Harry; Corey, Laura L.; Croft, Bruno; Gunn, Anne; Wielen, Sjoerd van der; Football, Adeline; Tracz, Boyan; Pellissey, Jody S.; Boulanger, John

doi:10.4236/jep.2017.83020

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…3f). In addition to potential disruptions to migration [16, 21] and the effects of windborne dust [88, 89] resulting from industrial traffic, an associated increase in hunter access to migratory areas could have far more detrimental effects on caribou populations, should this or other new roads be publically accessible (see [26, 90]). Given the extensive climatic and anthropogenic disturbances threatening the Western Arctic Herd, we echo the call for comprehensive management planning that recognizes and conserves a variety of migratory areas to buffer caribou from environmental volatility as part of a long-term persistence strategy for caribou in the Arctic [7, 79].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using seasonal landscape models to predict space use and migratory patterns of an arctic ungulate

Baltensperger

Joly

2019

Mov Ecol

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Background Caribou in the Western Arctic Herd undertake one of the longest, remaining intact migrations of terrestrial mammals in the world. They are also the most important subsistence resource for many northern rural residents, who rely on the caribou’s migratory movements to bring them near for harvest. Migratory geography has never been static, but subsistence harvesters have reported recent shifts in migration away from areas where they traditionally occurred. The reasons behind these changes are not well-understood, but may be related to rapid climate change and anthropogenic disturbances. Methods To predict changes in distribution and shifting migratory areas over the past decade, we used GPS telemetry data from adult females to develop predictive ecological niche models of caribou across northwestern Alaska. We employed the machine-learning algorithm, TreeNet, to analyze interactive, multivariate relationships between telemetry locations and 37 spatial environmental layers and to predict the distributions of caribou during spring, calving season, insect-harassment season, late summer, fall, and winter from 2009 to 2017. Model results were analyzed to identify regions of repeated predicted use, quantify mean longitude, predict land cover selection, and track migratory changes over time. Results Distribution models accurately predicted caribou at a spatially-explicit, 500-m scale. Model analyses identified migratory areas that shifted annually across the region, but which predicted 4 main areas of repeated use. Niche models were defined largely by non-linear relationships with coastally-influenced, climatic variables, especially snow-free date, potential evapo-transpiration, growing season length, proximity to sea ice, winter precipitation and fall temperature. Proximity to roads and communities were also important and we predicted caribou to generally occur more than 20–100 km from these features. Conclusions Western Arctic Herd caribou were predicted to occur in warmer, snow-free and treeless areas that may provide conditions conducive for efficient travel and foraging. Rapidly changing seasonal climates and coastal influences that determine forage availability, and human impediments that slow or divert movements are related to geographically and phenologically dynamic migration patterns that may periodically shift caribou away from traditional harvest areas. An enhanced understanding of the geographic behavior of caribou over time could inform traditional harvests and help conserve important Western Arctic caribou migratory areas. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40462-019-0162-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using seasonal landscape models to predict space use and migratory patterns of an arctic ungulate

Baltensperger

Joly

2019

Mov Ecol

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“…If human-made obstacles, such as roads, railroads, villages, hydroelectric lines, pipelines, mines, wind turbines, and oil and gas facilities, prevent caribou from migrating, large areas of key habitat can be isolated and functionally lost [36,38,45]. The impacts associated with these obstacles, such as noise, aircraft, and road dust, as well as human recreational activity, including hunting, snowmachining, skiing, and hiking, need to be considered as well [35,55,56,57,58]. Heavy harvest, facilitated by increased access provided by all-season and winter (ice) roads, can accelerate natural population declines in Rangifer, as was the case in the winters of 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 when winter roads enabled an annual harvest of several thousand caribou from the Bathurst Herd when it was already in decline [59].…”

Section: The Expanding Human Footprint In the Arctic And Free Passage...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Caribou and reindeer migrations in the changing Arctic

Joly

Gunn²,

Côté

et al. 2021

Animal Migration

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Caribou and reindeer, Rangifer tarandus, are the most numerous and socio-ecologically important terrestrial species in the Arctic. Their migrations are directly and indirectly affected by the seasonal nature of the northernmost regions, human development and population size; all of which are impacted by climate change. We review the most critical drivers of Rangifer migration and how a rapidly changing Arctic may affect them. In order to conserve large Rangifer populations, they must be allowed free passage along their migratory routes to reach seasonal ranges. We also provide some pragmatic ideas to help conserve Rangifer migrations into the future.

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“…Wilson et al, 2013;Wilson et al, 2014;Wilson et al, 2016). In the Arctic, dirt is often the surface of industrial roads and road dust that traffic creates can reduce lichen cover (Exponent, 2007;Chen et al, 2017). In response to lingering questions about the importance of lichens in the diet of overwintering, migratory caribou that face predation pressure in relation to pregnancy, parturition, and sexual segregation, as well as a desire to possess base-line data prior to additional industrial development, we analyzed fall and early winter diets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early fall and late winter diets of migratory caribou in northwest Alaska

Joly¹,

Cameron²

2018

Ran

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Lichens are the primary winter forage for large herds of migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus). Caribou select for lichens more than they are available across the landscape and they generally avoid, during winter, habitat that has been burned by wildfires for decades while lichen abundance recovers. However, the relative importance of lichens in the diet is subject to debate. From 2010-2013, we conducted one of the largest microhistological studies of the early fall (58 samples from 1 site) and late winter (338 samples from 58 sites) diets of barren-ground caribou. Lichens constituted ~ 71% of the late winter diets of caribou in northwest Alaska, whereas moss (11%) and shrubs (9%) were the next most common forage items. Early fall diets were very similar to late winter, perhaps because deciduous vegetation is senescent during both periods. Diets of males, non-pregnant females and pregnant females were not significantly different. Pregnancy was not associated with the abundance of any forage type during winter but was associated with higher physiological stress. This result was expected as fall body condition dictates conception, caribou are ‘capital’ breeders, and gestation can be energetically demanding. Caribou that migrated south (i.e., wintered south of 67.1°N) had lower levels of nutritional stress, higher levels of lichen in the diet, and lower levels of moss and shrubs compared to caribou that did not migrate south. Future investigations into the potential connection between lichen abundance in the winter diet and survivorship, as well as linking the late summer diets of individuals to their reproductive success, should be undertaken.

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Does Dust from Arctic Mines Affect Caribou Forage?

Cited by 15 publications

References 20 publications

Using seasonal landscape models to predict space use and migratory patterns of an arctic ungulate

Using seasonal landscape models to predict space use and migratory patterns of an arctic ungulate

Caribou and reindeer migrations in the changing Arctic

Early fall and late winter diets of migratory caribou in northwest Alaska

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