Testing the importance of spatial configuration of winter habitat for woodland caribou: An application of graph theory

O’Brien, Dan; Manseau, Micheline; Fall, Andrew; Fortin, Marie‐Josée

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.12.014

Cited by 151 publications

(147 citation statements)

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“…The increased abundance of mature forest stands, in both the Park and the provincial crown land of the PAGE, should be favorable to woodland caribou (Hirai, 1998;Brown et al, 2000a;Brown et al, 2000b;Ret¬ tie & Messier 2000, Schneider et al, 2000Thomas & Gray 2002, Mahoney & Virgl, 2003Lander 2006, O'Brien et al, 2006 however, the increased amount of anthropogenic disturbances and resulting patchwork of selected and avoided habitat types on provincial crown land are potentially counteracting those benefits and reducing the functional values of the mature coniferous stands. O'Brien (2006) showed that woodland caribou select large clusters of high quality habitat patches over the high quality habitat patches themselves. These large clusters of well-con¬ nected habitat patches or the resulting habitat mosaic are important in providing food, cover and separation from other ungulate species and associated predators.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical changes in caribou distribution and land cover in and around Prince Albert National Park: land management implications

Arlt¹,

Manseau²

2011

Ran

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Abstract:In central Saskatchewan, boreal woodland caribou population declines have been documented in the 1940s and again in the 1980s. Although both declines led to a ban in sport hunting, a recovery was only seen in the 1950s and was attributed to wolf control and hunting closure. Recent studies suggest that this time, the population may not be increasing. In order to contribute to the conservation efforts, historical changes in caribou distribution and land cover types in the Prince Albert Greater Ecosystem (PAGE), Saskatchewan, were documented for the period of 1960s to the present. To examine changes in caribou distribution, survey observations, incidental sightings and telemetry data were collated. To quantify landscape changes, land cover maps were created for 1966 and 2006 using current and historic forest resources inventories, fire, logging, and roads data. Results indicate that woodland caribou are still found throughout the study area although their distribution has changed and their use of the National Park is greatly limited. Results of transition prob¬ abilities and landscape composition analyses on the 1966 and 2006 land cover maps revealed an aging landscape for both the National Park and provincial crown land portions of the PAGE. In addition, increased logging and the development of extensive road and trail networks on provincial crown land produced significant landscape fragmentation for woodland caribou and reduced functional attributes of habitat patches. Understanding historical landscape changes will assist with ongoing provincial and federal recovery efforts for boreal caribou, forest management planning activities, and landscape restoration efforts within and beyond the Park boundaries.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical changes in caribou distribution and land cover in and around Prince Albert National Park: land management implications

Arlt¹,

Manseau²

2011

Ran

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“…This association reflects life-history strategies adopted by woodland caribou to obtain preferred forage and to avoid interactions with predators and insects (O'Brien et al, 2006;Wittmer et al, 2007). Similarly, woodland caribou tend to show strong preference for areas with water bodies, wetlands, and peatlands alongside hilly areas to cope with heat stress (Racey, 2005), avoid predators, and ease of movement in winter (O'Brien et al, 2006;Fortin et al, 2008;Courbin et al, 2014). Linear features (e.g., roads, railways, trails, utility lines), forest developments (e.g., timber harvest), and natural disturbances (e.g., forest fires, blow downs) fragment the boreal forest and negatively impact woodland caribou (Rettie & Messier, 1998;James & Stuart-Smith, 2000;Joly et al, 2003;Fortin et al, 2008;Courbin et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Although occurrences from any type of observation were recorded in this survey, the vast majority (above 95% for all decades between 1980-2012) of recorded observations occurred as a result of survey activities. All woodland caribou occurrences from 1980-2012 for the winter months (January, February, and March) were used in this study (Figure 2;O'Brien et al, 2006;Basille et al, 2013). 2015; Le Corre et al, 2016).…”

Section: Caribou Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Woodland caribou prefer coniferous regions characterized by old growth forests (Racey, 2005;Wittmer et al, 2005), that are found in large contiguous zones (O'Brien et al, 2006;Brown et al, 2007) with lichen rich understories (Hebert & Weladji, 2013). This association reflects life-history strategies adopted by woodland caribou to obtain preferred forage and to avoid interactions with predators and insects (O'Brien et al, 2006;Wittmer et al, 2007). Similarly, woodland caribou tend to show strong preference for areas with water bodies, wetlands, and peatlands alongside hilly areas to cope with heat stress (Racey, 2005), avoid predators, and ease of movement in winter (O'Brien et al, 2006;Fortin et al, 2008;Courbin et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An uncertain future for woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou): The impact of climate change on winter distribution in Ontario

Masood¹,

Zuiden²,

Rodgers³

et al. 2017

Ran

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Habitat alteration and climate change are two important environmental stressors posing increasing threats to woodland caribou, Rangifer tarandus caribou, in Ontario. Our first objective was to identify the importance of linear features, habitat, and climate on the occurrence of woodland caribou during the winter season using over 30 years of records . Our second objective was to forecast the impacts of climate change on the future occurrence and range of woodland caribou. Woodland caribou occurrence and environmental data collected during 1980 to 2012 were obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). Logistic regression models were used to identify the importance of linear features, habitat, and climate on woodland caribou. We then forecast future caribou occurrences using 126 future climate projections. Woodland caribou preferred coniferous forests and mixed forests that tended to be associated with increased lichen coverage, and regions with colder winters. Woodland caribou also avoided anthropogenically disturbed regions, such as areas associated with high road density or developed areas. Caribou range extent was projected to contract by 57.2-100% by 2050 and 58.9-100% by 2070. Furthermore, all 126 climate change scenarios forecast a range loss of at least 55% for woodland caribou in Ontario by 2050. We project complete loss of woodland caribou in Ontario if winter temperatures increase by more than 5.6°C by 2070. We found that woodland caribou in Ontario are sensitive to changes in climate and forecasted that an average of 95% of Ontario's native woodland caribou could become extirpated by 2070. The greatest extirpations were projected to occur in the northernmost regions of Ontario as well as northeastern Ontario, while regions in western Ontario were projected to have the lowest rates of extirpation. This underscores the importance of mitigating greenhouse gases as a means to protect this iconic species.

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Graph Theory and Network Models in Landscape Genetics

2015

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Testing the importance of spatial configuration of winter habitat for woodland caribou: An application of graph theory

Cited by 151 publications

References 47 publications

Historical changes in caribou distribution and land cover in and around Prince Albert National Park: land management implications

Historical changes in caribou distribution and land cover in and around Prince Albert National Park: land management implications

An uncertain future for woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou): The impact of climate change on winter distribution in Ontario

Graph Theory and Network Models in Landscape Genetics

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