Long-Term Changes in Demography and Migration of Newfoundland Caribou

Mahoney, Shane P.; Schaefer, James A.

doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<0957:ltcida>2.0.co;2

Cited by 54 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Caribou may shift ranges in response to reductions in forage quantity (Messier et al, 1988;Couturier et al, 1990) or quality (Klein, 1970;Gordon and Illius, 1989;Wolfe, 2000). A decline in the quality of the summer range can result in delayed arrival, reduced calf survival, and earlier departure from summering areas (Crête and Huot, 1993;Mahoney and Schaefer, 2002b;Couturier et al, 2009). Over decades, body size and population size can also reflect density-dependent fluctuations in available forage biomass (Crête and Huot, 1993;Mahoney and Schaefer, 2002b;Couturier et al, 2010;Mahoney et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Avoidance behaviour, even in response to disturbance occurring several kilometres away, has been related to jet noise (Harrington and Veitch, 1992), roads and industrial developments (Nellemann and Cameron, 1998;Dyer et al, 2001;Mahoney and Schaefer, 2002a;Cameron et al, 2005;Joly et al, 2006), snow machines (Mahoney et al, 2001;Seip et al, 2007), and other recreational activity (Nellemann et al, 2000(Nellemann et al, , 2010. In areas affected by multiple human activities, extirpation can result (Schaefer, 2003;Vors et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Causes and Consequences of Broad-Scale Changes in the Distribution of Migratory Caribou (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) of Southern Hudson Bay

Newton¹,

Abraham²,

Schaefer³

et al. 2015

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. Understanding the factors driving changes in species distributions is fundamental to conservation, but for wide-ranging species this is often complicated by the need for broad-scale observations across space and time. In the last three decades, the location of summer concentrations of migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in southern Hudson Bay (SHB), Canada, has shifted south and east as much as 500 km. We used long-term data (1987 -2011) to test two hypotheses that could explain the distribution shift: forage depletion and anthropogenic disturbance. Over time and space, we compared the body size of live-captured adult female caribou, dietary quality from fecal nitrogen in July, the location of VHF-and GPS-collared female caribou in July, distribution of all-terrain vehicle (ATV) tracks and caribou tracks in August, and the proximity of collared caribou to sections of the coast with higher ATV activity in spring and summer. The forage depletion hypothesis was supported by greater body size and dietary quality in caribou of the eastern portion of SHB than in western SHB animals in 2009 -11. The anthropogenic disturbance hypothesis was supported by the negative correlation of the distributions of ATV tracks and caribou tracks on the coast in 2010 and the fact that caribou avoided areas with ATV activity by 10 -14 km. In 1987, collared caribou were observed largely along the coast in western SHB in mid-July, while in 2009 -11, they were inland in western SHB and along the coast in eastern SHB. While these locations demonstrate a substantial change in summer distribution over three decades, we were unable to differentiate between forage depletion and anthropogenic disturbance as a single causal factor of the distribution shift.Key words: anthropogenic disturbance; body size; diet; distribution; fecal nitrogen; forage; migratory caribou; Hudson Bay; Rangifer tarandus; range shift RÉSUMÉ. La compréhension des facteurs qui influencent les changements caractérisant les distributions des espèces est fondamentale aux efforts de conservation, mais pour les espèces dont l'aire de distribution est étendue, ce principe est souvent compliqué par la nécessité de faire des observations à grande échelle, dans le temps et dans l'espace. Au cours des trois dernières décennies, l'emplacement des concentrations estivales du caribou migrateur (Rangifer tarandus) dans le sud de la baie d'Hudson (SBH), au Canada, s'est déplacé vers le sud et vers l'est dans une mesure de 500 km. Nous nous sommes appuyés sur des données de longue haleine pour mettre à l'épreuve deux hypothèses susceptibles d'expliquer ce changement en matière de distribution, soit l'appauvrissement du fourrage et la perturbation anthropique. Au fil du temps et de l'espace, nous avons comparé la taille du corps des caribous femelles adultes capturées vivantes, la qualité de leur alimentation à partir de l'azote fécal en juillet, l'emplacement des femelles portant un collier de type VHF ou GPS en juillet, la répartition des traces de véhicules tout terrain (VT...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and Consequences of Broad-Scale Changes in the Distribution of Migratory Caribou (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) of Southern Hudson Bay

Newton¹,

Abraham²,

Schaefer³

et al. 2015

ARCTIC

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“…Impediments to movements of wide-ranging terrestrial mammals share common anthropogenic traits: railroad lines for Mongolian gazelles (Procapra gutturosa) in Central Asia (Ito et al 2005), highways for brown bears (Ursus arctos) in North America (McLellan & Shackleton 1988), agricultural fields for wildebeest in the Serengeti (Serneels & Lambin 2001) and hydroelectric dams for woodland caribou ((Rangifer tarandus) Mahoney & Schaefer 2002). While species like saiga (Saiga tatarica) or chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii ) (Schaller 1998;Milner-Gulland et al 2001) are threatened by poaching, the overarching problem for effective conservation has been large-scale habitat change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connecting the dots: an invariant migration corridor links the Holocene to the present

Berger

Cain²,

Berger

2006

Biol. Lett.

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Numerous species undergo impressive movements, but due to massive changes in land use, long distance migration in terrestrial vertebrates has become a highly fragile ecological phenomenon. Uncertainty about the locations of past migrations and the importance of current corridors hampers conservation planning. Using archeological data from historic kill sites and modern methods to track migration, we document an invariant, 150 km (one-way) migration corridor used for at least 6000 years by North America's sole extant endemic ungulate. Pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana ) from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, like other long distant migrants including Serengeti wildebeest ( Connochaetes taurinus ) and Arctic caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ), move nearly 50 km d −1 , but in contrast to these other species, rely on an invariant corridor averaging only 2 km wide. Because an entire population accesses a national park (Grand Teton) by passage through bottlenecks as narrow as 121 m, any blockage to movement will result in extirpation. Based on animation of real data coupled with the loss of six historic routes, alternative pathways throughout the 60 000 km 2 Yellowstone ecosystem are no longer available. Our findings have implications for developing strategies to protect long distance land migrations in Africa, Asia and North America and to prevent the disappearance of ecological phenomena that have operated for millennia.

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“…A technical approach to monitoring body condition began in the mid-1900s, with emphasis on describing and validating condition indices which had allometric relations to the status of muscle, bone and fat, and their chemical constituents: water, protein, lipid, and ash (Dauphiné, 1976;Langvatn, 1977;Ringberg et al, 1981a;Reimers & Ringberg, 1983;Huot & Goudreault, 1985;Adamczewski et al, 1987a;Huot & Picard, 1988;Allaye Chan-McLeod et al, 1995;Gerhart et al, 1996). Monitoring body size (e.g., lower jaw and metatarsal bones) and shape (e.g., heart girth) also provides insight into population trends (Parker, 1981;Crête & Huot, 1993;Mahoney & Schaefer, 2002;Couturier et al, 2010). For the most part, this type of monitoring has been scientist-driven, typically initiated and conducted by wildlife managers or researchers, and often focused on a particular herd intermittently or for a nite length of time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standardized monitoring of Rangifer health during International Polar Year

Kutz¹,

Ducrocq²,

Cuyler³

et al. 2013

Ran

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Monitoring of individual animal health indices in wildlife populations can be a powerful tool for evaluation of population health, detecting changes, and informing management decisions. Standardized monitoring allows robust comparisons within and across populations, and over time and vast geographic regions. As an International Polar Year Initiative, the CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment network established eld protocols for standardized monitoring of caribou and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) health, which included body condition, contaminants, and pathogen exposure and abundance. To facilitate use of the protocols, training sessions were held, additional resources were developed, and language was translated where needed. From March 2007 to September 2010, at least 1206 animals from 16 circumpolar herds were sampled in the eld using the protocols. Four main levels of sampling were done and ranged from basic to comprehensive sampling. Possible sources of sampling error were noted by network members early in the process and protocols were modi ed or supplemented with additional visual resources to improve clarity when needed. is is the rst time that such broad and comprehensive circumpolar sampling of migratory caribou and wild reindeer, using standardized protocols covering both body condition and disease status, has been done.

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Long-Term Changes in Demography and Migration of Newfoundland Caribou

Cited by 54 publications

References 21 publications

Causes and Consequences of Broad-Scale Changes in the Distribution of Migratory Caribou (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) of Southern Hudson Bay

Causes and Consequences of Broad-Scale Changes in the Distribution of Migratory Caribou (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) of Southern Hudson Bay

Connecting the dots: an invariant migration corridor links the Holocene to the present

Standardized monitoring of Rangifer health during International Polar Year

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