Spatiotemporal response of mountain caribou to the intensity of backcountry skiing

Lesmerises, Frédéric; Déry, Florent; Johnson, Chris J.; St‐Laurent, Martin‐Hugues

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2017.10.030

Cited by 38 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…, Lesmerises et al. ). Although useful, many of the previous studies assessing the effects of winter recreation on wildlife have been limited spatially and temporally, and most were focused within a single study area and on a single form of winter recreation (Larson et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…are negatively impacted by backcountry winter recreation including habitat displacement as well as energetic and physiological effects (Patthey et al 2008, Braunisch et al 2011, Arlettaz et al 2015, Coppes et al 2017b. Many species of large herbivore (e.g., red deer, Cervus elaphus; mountain caribou, Rangifer tarandus caribou; bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis; mountain goat, Oreamnos americanus; moose, Alces alces) have exhibited negative physiological or behavioral responses including indirect habitat loss through avoidance of motorized and non-motorized winter recreation (Seip et al 2007, Neumann et al 2009, Courtemanch 2014, Richard and Cote 2016, Coppes et al 2017a, Lesmerises et al 2018. Although useful, many of the previous studies assessing the effects of winter recreation on wildlife have been limited spatially and temporally, and most were focused within a single study area and on a single form of winter recreation (Larson et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wolverines in winter: indirect habitat loss and functional responses to backcountry recreation

et al. 2019

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Outdoor recreation is increasingly recognized to impact nature and wildlife, yet few studies have examined recreation within large natural landscapes that are critical habitat to some of our most rare and potentially disturbance‐sensitive species. Over six winters (2010–2015) and four study areas (>1.1 million ha) in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, we studied the responses of wolverines (Gulo gulo) to backcountry winter recreation. We fit Global Positioning System (GPS) collars to 24 individual wolverines and acquired >54,000 GPS locations over 39 animal‐years during winter (January–April). Simultaneously, we monitored winter recreation, collecting ~6000 GPS tracks (~200,000 km) from backcountry recreationists. We combined the GPS tracks with trail use counts and aerial recreation surveys to map the extent and relative intensity of motorized and non‐motorized recreation. We integrated our wolverine and backcountry recreation data to (1) assess patterns of wolverine habitat selection and (2) evaluate the effect of backcountry recreation on wolverine habitat relationships. We used resource selection functions to model habitat selection of male and female wolverines within their home ranges. We first modeled habitat selection for environmental covariates to understand male and female habitat use then incorporated winter recreation covariates. We assessed the potential for indirect habitat loss from winter recreation and tested for functional responses of wolverines to differing levels and types of recreation. Motorized recreation occurred at higher intensity across a larger footprint than non‐motorized recreation in most wolverine home ranges. Wolverines avoided areas of both motorized and non‐motorized winter recreation with off‐road recreation eliciting a stronger response than road‐based recreation. Female wolverines exhibited stronger avoidance of off‐road motorized recreation and experienced higher indirect habitat loss than male wolverines. Wolverines showed negative functional responses to the level of recreation exposure within the home range, with female wolverines showing the strongest functional response to motorized winter recreation. We suggest indirect habitat loss, particularly to females, could be of concern in areas with higher recreation levels. We speculate that the potential for backcountry winter recreation to affect wolverines may increase under climate change if reduced snow pack concentrates winter recreationists and wolverines in the remaining areas of persistent snow cover.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wolverines in winter: indirect habitat loss and functional responses to backcountry recreation

et al. 2019

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“…Unregulated predation in the form of apparent competition has led to steep declines, and in some cases, the extirpation of caribou populations (Hervieux et al 2013, Johnson et al 2015. Other factors contributing to those declines include the loss of habitat, displacement of caribou from traditional range, and a compressed spatial distribution (Beauchesne et al 2014, Lesmerises et al 2018.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling multispecies predator–prey dynamics: predicting the outcomes of conservation actions for woodland caribou

2019

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Woodland caribou is a Threatened or Endangered subspecies across much of Canada. In many cases, these caribou are declining because of human‐mediated predation in the form of apparent competition. Provincial and federal agencies have employed a number of conservation actions to arrest the decline, but insufficient time and limited replication make it difficult to test the efficacy of those activities. We built a three‐species population model that served as a tool to integrate current knowledge, explore uncertainties, and assess activities focused on the recovery of caribou. We applied the model to interconnected populations of caribou, moose, and wolves at two locations in Canada (Chinchaga [British Columbia], Charlevoix [Québec]) and explored the efficacy of conservation actions unique to each population: predator control, restoration of linear features, reduction of habitat for moose, supplementation, maternal pens, and predator exclosures. Results confirmed that caribou at these two locations faced different recovery challenges, dictated by specific population dynamics and threats. Wolf predation, enhanced by seismic lines and resource roads, was responsible for the decline of the simulated Chinchaga population. The most cost‐effective recovery actions for that population were long‐term lethal wolf control (λ1–50 = 1.014, $25,665/caribou), a large‐scale predator exclosure (λ1–50 = 1.015, $170,767/caribou), and the aggressive restoration of linear features (λ1–50 = 1.002, $531,675/caribou). In contrast, simulations suggested that calf predation by black bears, a fixed source of mortality in the model, limited the growth of the Charlevoix population. Assuming high survival of adult caribou and poor recruitment of juveniles, a maternal pen was the most effective action for the recovery of those caribou (λ1–50 = 1.004, $148,473/caribou). Short‐term population supplementation provided only a temporary increase in abundance (λ1–50 = 0.994, $62,143/caribou). The model was limited by ecological and data uncertainties, but served as an effective platform for representing and testing our understanding of the complex interspecific interactions that underlie the recovery of woodland caribou.

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“…Due to the relatively low density of trails and roads in the National Park, we suspected a non-linear response to anthropogenic structures. We used a decay function [exp(Àa/ distance)] to transform the measured distances (Lesmerises et al 2018b). We tested a range of a values (50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, and 2000) and used Akaike's information criterion corrected for small sample sizes (AIC c ) (Burnham and Anderson 2004) to select the a value that provided the most parsimonious model, after including factors for natural and anthropogenic disturbance (Lesmerises et al 2018b).…”

Section: Survival Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of behavioral marginality on survival of an alpine ungulate

2019

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Inter‐individual variability in behavior has been studied extensively for a wide range of species. However, few researchers have considered marginality, defined as the degree to which a choice made by an individual is located at the margins of the distribution of all possible choices available to a particular population. We explored the influence of marginal behaviors on the probability of survival of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). We used GPS collars to record the movement and fate of 43 caribou and distributed their habitat use behavior along two axes of a multidimensional scaling. We used Cox proportional‐hazards models to evaluate whether marginality had an effect on mortality risk. We found that individuals that exhibited marginal behavior had higher mortality risk than more conformist individuals. Caribou is a social species; thus, sharing a common habitat use strategy is likely an adaptation for minimizing the risk of predation. Our findings provide an empirical link between behavior and survival, contributing to our understanding of the decline of Rangifer across much of its Canadian distribution.

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Spatiotemporal response of mountain caribou to the intensity of backcountry skiing

Cited by 38 publications

References 57 publications

Wolverines in winter: indirect habitat loss and functional responses to backcountry recreation

Wolverines in winter: indirect habitat loss and functional responses to backcountry recreation

Modeling multispecies predator–prey dynamics: predicting the outcomes of conservation actions for woodland caribou

Effect of behavioral marginality on survival of an alpine ungulate

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