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Lamb CT, Williams S, Boutin S, Bridger M, Cichowski D, Cornhill K, DeMars C, Dickie M, Ernst B, Ford A, Gillingham MP, Greene L, Heard DC, Hebblewhite M, Hervieux D, Klaczek M, McLellan BN, McNay RS, Neufeld L, Nobert B, Nowak JJ, Pelletier A, Reid A, Roberts AM, Russell M, Seip D, Seip C, Shores C, Steenweg R, White S, Wittmer HU, Wong M, Zimmerman KL, Serrouya R. Effectiveness of population-based recovery actions for threatened southern mountain caribou. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 34:e2965. [PMID: 38629596 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Habitat loss is affecting many species, including the southern mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) population in western North America. Over the last half century, this threatened caribou population's range and abundance have dramatically contracted. An integrated population model was used to analyze 51 years (1973-2023) of demographic data from 40 southern mountain caribou subpopulations to assess the effectiveness of population-based recovery actions at increasing population growth. Reducing potential limiting factors on threatened caribou populations offered a rare opportunity to identify the causes of decline and assess methods of recovery. Southern mountain caribou abundance declined by 51% between 1991 and 2023, and 37% of subpopulations were functionally extirpated. Wolf reduction was the only recovery action that consistently increased population growth when applied in isolation, and combinations of wolf reductions with maternal penning or supplemental feeding provided rapid growth but were applied to only four subpopulations. As of 2023, recovery actions have increased the abundance of southern mountain caribou by 52%, compared to a simulation with no interventions. When predation pressure was reduced, rapid population growth was observed, even under contemporary climate change and high levels of habitat loss. Unless predation is reduced, caribou subpopulations will continue to be extirpated well before habitat conservation and restoration can become effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clayton T Lamb
- Wildlife Science Center, Biodiversity Pathways, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Sara Williams
- Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Stan Boutin
- Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Michael Bridger
- Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Kristina Cornhill
- Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Craig DeMars
- Wildlife Science Center, Biodiversity Pathways, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Melanie Dickie
- Wildlife Science Center, Biodiversity Pathways, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Bevan Ernst
- Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Adam Ford
- Wildlife Science Center, Biodiversity Pathways, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Michael P Gillingham
- Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Laura Greene
- Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Douglas C Heard
- Tithonus Wildlife Research, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Dave Hervieux
- Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Government of Alberta, Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
| | - Mike Klaczek
- Ministry of Forests, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Bruce N McLellan
- International Union for the Conservation of Nature Bear Specialist Group, D'Arcy, British Columbia, Canada
| | - R Scott McNay
- Wildlife Infometrics Inc., Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Barry Nobert
- Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Government of Alberta, Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - Agnès Pelletier
- Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Aaron Reid
- Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Anne-Marie Roberts
- Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Mike Russell
- Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Government of Alberta, Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
| | - Dale Seip
- Ministry of Environment, Government of British Columbia, Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Caroline Seip
- Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Government of Alberta, Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
| | - Carolyn Shores
- Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Robin Steenweg
- Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Shane White
- Ministry of Forests, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Heiko U Wittmer
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Mark Wong
- Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Kathryn L Zimmerman
- Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Government of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Robert Serrouya
- Wildlife Science Center, Biodiversity Pathways, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
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Wehr NH, Moore SA, Isaac EJ, Kellner KF, Millspaugh JJ, Belant JL. Spatial overlap of gray wolves and ungulate prey changes seasonally corresponding to prey migration. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2024; 12:33. [PMID: 38671527 PMCID: PMC11046751 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-024-00466-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prey are more vulnerable during migration due to decreased familiarity with their surroundings and spatially concentrated movements. Predators may respond to increased prey vulnerability by shifting their ranges to match prey. Moose (Alces alces) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are primary gray wolf (Canis lupus) prey and important subsistence species for Indigenous communities. We hypothesized wolves would increase use of ungulate migration corridors during migrations and predicted wolf distributions would overlap primary available prey. METHODS We examined seasonal gray wolf, moose, and white-tailed deer movements on and near the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, Minnesota, USA. We analyzed GPS collar data during 2012-2021 using Brownian bridge movement models (BBMM) in Migration Mapper and mechanistic range shift analysis (MRSA) to estimate individual- and population-level occurrence distributions and determine the status and timing of range shifts. We estimated proportional overlap of wolf distributions with moose and deer distributions and tested for differences among seasons, prey populations, and wolf sex and pack affiliations. RESULTS We identified a single migration corridor through which white-tailed deer synchronously departed in April and returned in October-November. Gray wolf distributions overlapped the deer migration corridor similarly year-round, but wolves altered within-range distributions seasonally corresponding to prey distributions. Seasonal wolf distributions had the greatest overlap with deer during fall migration (10 October-28 November) and greatest overlap with moose during summer (3 May-9 October). CONCLUSIONS Gray wolves did not increase their use of the white-tailed deer migration corridor but altered distributions within their territories in response to seasonal prey distributions. Greater overlap of wolves and white-tailed deer in fall may be due to greater predation success facilitated by asynchronous deer migration movements. Greater summer overlap between wolves and moose may be linked to moose calf vulnerability, American beaver (Castor canadensis) co-occurrence, and reduced deer abundance associated with migration. Our results suggest increases in predation pressure on deer in fall and moose in summer, which can inform Indigenous conservation efforts. We observed seasonal plasticity of wolf distributions suggestive of prey switching; that wolves did not exhibit migratory coupling was likely due to spatial constraints resulting from territoriality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel H Wehr
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| | - Seth A Moore
- Department of Biology and Environment, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage, MN, USA
| | - Edmund J Isaac
- Department of Biology and Environment, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage, MN, USA
| | - Kenneth F Kellner
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Joshua J Millspaugh
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
- Camp Fire Program in Wildlife Conservation, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Jerrold L Belant
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
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Kohut G, Losey R, Kutz S, Khidas K, Nomokonova T. Assessing current visual tooth wear age estimation methods for Rangifer tarandus using a known age sample from Canada. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301408. [PMID: 38564608 PMCID: PMC10986930 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Age estimation is crucial for investigating animal populations in the past and present. Visual examination of tooth wear and eruption is one of the most common ageing methods in zooarchaeology, wildlife management, palaeontology, and veterinary research. Such approaches are particularly advantageous because they are non-destructive, can be completed using photographs, and do not require specialized training. Several tooth wear and eruption methods have been developed for Rangifer tarandus, a widely distributed and long-utilized species in the North. This paper evaluates the practicality and effectiveness of three existing visual tooth wear and eruption methods for this species using a large known-age sample from several caribou populations in northern Canada (Bluenose East, Bluenose West, Dolphin-Union, Qamanirjuaq, and Beverly herds). These methods are evaluated based on: (1) the amount of error and bias between estimated and actual ages, (2) suitable and interpretable results, (3) user-friendly and unambiguous procedures, and (4) which teeth and visual features of those teeth are used to record wear and eruption status. This study finds that the three evaluated methods all have variable errors and biases, and two show extensive biases when applied to older individuals. Demographic data is simpler to generate and more flexible to report when methods allow age to be estimated as a continuous or discrete variable, rather than as age ranges. The dentition samples used by two of the previously developed methods impact their applicability to other populations of Rangifer. In one existing method, individuals were unavailable from some age ranges leaving gaps when assigning ages. For another Rangifer-ageing method, the population utilized was too distinct in morphology or diet to be used with the Canadian caribou analyzed here. Additional refinement of tooth wear and eruption ageing methods will benefit zooarchaeological research on reindeer and caribou remains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Kohut
- Department of Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Robert Losey
- Department of Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Susan Kutz
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Kamal Khidas
- Canadian Museum of Nature and Beaty Center for Species Discovery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Biology Department, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tatiana Nomokonova
- Department of Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Barboza PS, Shively RD, Thompson DP. Robust Responses of Female Caribou to Changes in Food Supply. ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 97:29-52. [PMID: 38717369 DOI: 10.1086/729668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
AbstractUngulates can respond to changes in food supply by altering foraging behavior, digestive function, and metabolism. A multifaceted response to an environmental change is considered robust. Short seasons of plant growth make herbivores sensitive to changes in food supply because maintenance and production must be accomplished in less time with fewer options in a more fragile response. Caribou live at high latitudes where short summers constrain their response to changes in food supply. We measured the ability of female caribou to resist and tolerate changes in the quality and quantity of their food supply during winter and summer. Caribou resisted changes in food abundance and quality by changing food intake and physical activity with changes in daily temperature within each season. Peak food intake rose by 134% from winter pregnancy to summer lactation (98 vs. 229 g kg-0.75 d-1), as digestible requirements to maintain the body increased by 85% for energy (1,164 vs. 2,155 kJ kg-0.75 d-1) and by 266% for N (0.79 vs. 2.89 g N kg-0.75 d-1). Caribou required a diet with a digestible content of 12 kJ g-1 and 0.8% N in pregnancy, 18 kJ g-1 and 1.9% N in early lactation, and 11 kJ g-1 and 1.2% N in late lactation, which corresponds with the phenology of the wild diet. Female caribou tolerated restriction of ad lib. food intake to 58% of their energy requirement (680 vs. 1,164 kJ kg-0.75 d-1) during winter pregnancy and to 84% of their energy requirement (1,814 vs. 2,155 kJ kg-0.75 d-1) during summer lactation without a change in stress level, as indicated by fecal corticosterone concentration. Conversely, caribou can respond to increased availability of food with a spare capacity to process digestible energy and N at 123% (2,642 vs. 2,155 kJ kg-0.75 d-1) and 145% (4.20 vs. 2.89 g N kg-0.75 d-1) of those respective requirements during lactation. Robust responses to changes in food supply allow caribou to sustain reproduction, which would buffer demographic response. However, herds may decline when thresholds of behavioral resistance and physiological tolerance are frequently exceeded. Therefore, the challenge for managing declining populations of caribou and other robust species is to identify declines in robustness before their response becomes fragile.
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Calhoun TJ, Mesa-Cruz JB, Holcombe BE, Osborn DA, D’Angelo GJ, Lafon N, Kelly MJ. Splitting hairs: differentiating juvenile from adult deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) by hair width. J Mammal 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyac111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Ungulates are a main component in carnivore diets but determining consumption of juveniles is difficult. Past studies have used size of prey remains such as small hooves or bones to classify scat samples as containing content attributable to juveniles. Hair thickness and color may also be used, but seasonality could influence the coat of an adult by developing thinner hairs in summer that more closely resemble those from juveniles. Given this uncertainty, we aimed to quantitatively determine a hair diameter threshold to categorize the age-class of ungulate hair in scats. We obtained hair samples from captive (n = 133) and vehicle-killed (n = 5) white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from Georgia and Virginia. We used microphotography image analysis to measure the width of hairs and their cuticular casts. We used a linear model to assess differences among body locations, age-classes, and locations along the hair strand. We also analyzed the change in hair width of juveniles as they aged. Hair diameter of adults, but not juveniles, differed significantly depending on body location, yet adult hairs were always significantly wider than those from juveniles. Juvenile hairs significantly increased in width after mid-September, when they molt into adult coats in our study area. We identified 104.2 µm measured at either 1/8 or 1/4 distance from the follicle as a threshold width to distinguish adult from juvenile hairs, with 95.3% accuracy. Our findings indicate that juvenile white-tailed deer can be distinguished from adults based on the width of hairs found in carnivore scats up until juveniles are 5 months old. More broadly, our results demonstrate that hair width may be used to classify juvenile versus adult prey remains in carnivore diet studies in other predator–prey systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J Calhoun
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , Blacksburg, Virginia , USA
| | - J Bernardo Mesa-Cruz
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , Blacksburg, Virginia , USA
- Integrative Sciences, Harrisburg University , Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , USA
| | - Brogan E Holcombe
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , Blacksburg, Virginia , USA
| | - David A Osborn
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia , Athens, Georgia , USA
| | - Gino J D’Angelo
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia , Athens, Georgia , USA
| | - Nelson Lafon
- Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources , Forest, Virginia , USA
| | - Marcella J Kelly
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , Blacksburg, Virginia , USA
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6
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Links between individual performance, trace elements and stable isotopes in an endangered caribou population. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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McNay RS, Lamb CT, Giguere L, Williams SH, Martin H, Sutherland GD, Hebblewhite M. Demographic responses of nearly extirpated endangered mountain caribou to recovery actions in Central British Columbia. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2580. [PMID: 35319129 PMCID: PMC9285560 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Recovering endangered species is a difficult and often controversial task that challenges status quo land uses. Southern Mountain caribou are a threatened ecotype of caribou that historically ranged in southwestern Canada and northwestern USA and epitomize the tension between resource extraction, biodiversity conservation, and Indigenous Peoples' treaty rights. Human-induced habitat alteration is considered the ultimate cause of caribou population declines, whereby an increased abundance of primary prey-such as moose and deer-elevates predator populations and creates unsustainable caribou mortality. Here we focus on the Klinse-Za and Quintette subpopulations, part of the endangered Central Group of Southern Mountain caribou in British Columbia. These subpopulations were trending toward immediate extirpation until a collaborative group initiated recovery by implementing two short-term recovery actions. We test the effectiveness of these recovery actions-maternity penning of adult females and their calves, and the reduction of a primary predator, wolves-in increasing vital rates and population growth. Klinse-Za received both recovery actions, whereas Quintette only received wolf reductions, providing an opportunity to test efficacy between recovery actions. Between 1995 and 2021, we followed 162 collared female caribou for 414 animal-years to estimate survival and used aerial counts to estimate population abundance and calf recruitment. We combined these data in an integrated population model to estimate female population growth, total population abundance, and recovery action effectiveness. Results suggest that the subpopulations were declining rapidly (λ = 0.90-0.93) before interventions and would have been functionally extirpated (<10 animals) within 10-15 years. Wolf reduction increased population growth rates by ~0.12 for each subpopulation. Wolf reduction halted the decline of Quintette caribou and allowed them to increase (λ = 1.05), but alone would have only stabilized the Klinse-Za (λ = 1.02). However, maternity penning in the Klinse-Za increased population growth by a further ~0.06, which when combined with wolf reductions, allowed populations to grow (λ = 1.08). Taken together, the recovery actions in these subpopulations increased adult female survival, calf recruitment, and overall population growth, more than doubling abundance. Our results suggest that maternity penning and wolf reductions can be effective at increasing caribou numbers in the short term, while long-term commitments to habitat protection and restoration are made.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Clayton T. Lamb
- Department of BiologyUniversity of British ColumbiaKelownaBritish ColumbiaCanada
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation SciencesUniversity of MontanaMissoulaMontanaUSA
| | - Line Giguere
- Wildlife Infometrics IncMackenzieBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Sara H. Williams
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation SciencesUniversity of MontanaMissoulaMontanaUSA
| | - Hans Martin
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation SciencesUniversity of MontanaMissoulaMontanaUSA
| | | | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation SciencesUniversity of MontanaMissoulaMontanaUSA
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Lamb CT, Willson R, Richter C, Owens‐Beek N, Napoleon J, Muir B, McNay RS, Lavis E, Hebblewhite M, Giguere L, Dokkie T, Boutin S, Ford AT. Indigenous-led conservation: Pathways to recovery for the nearly extirpated Klinse-Za mountain caribou. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2581. [PMID: 35319140 PMCID: PMC9286450 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Indigenous Peoples around the northern hemisphere have long relied on caribou for subsistence and for ceremonial and community purposes. Unfortunately, despite recovery efforts by federal and provincial agencies, caribou are currently in decline in many areas across Canada. In response to recent and dramatic declines of mountain caribou populations within their traditional territory, West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations (collectively, the "Nations") came together to create a new vision for caribou recovery on the lands they have long stewarded and shared. The Nations focused on the Klinse-Za subpopulation, which had once encompassed so many caribou that West Moberly Elders remarked that they were "like bugs on the landscape." The Klinse-Za caribou declined from ~250 in the 1990s to only 38 in 2013, rendering Indigenous harvest of caribou nonviable and infringing on treaty rights to a subsistence livelihood. In collaboration with many groups and governments, this Indigenous-led conservation initiative paired short-term population recovery actions, predator reduction and maternal penning, with long-term habitat protection in an effort to create a self-sustaining caribou population. Here, we review these recovery actions and the promising evidence that the abundance of Klinse-Za caribou has more than doubled from 38 animals in 2013 to 101 in 2021, representing rapid population growth in response to recovery actions. With looming extirpation averted, the Nations focused efforts on securing a landmark conservation agreement in 2020 that protects caribou habitat over a 7986-km2 area. The Agreement provides habitat protection for >85% of the Klinse-Za subpopulation (up from only 1.8% protected pre-conservation agreement) and affords moderate protection for neighboring caribou subpopulations (29%-47% of subpopulation areas, up from 0%-20%). This Indigenous-led conservation initiative has set both the Indigenous and Canadian governments on the path to recover the Klinse-Za subpopulation and reinstate a culturally meaningful caribou hunt. This effort highlights how Indigenous governance and leadership can be the catalyst needed to establish meaningful conservation actions, enhance endangered species recovery, and honor cultural connections to now imperiled wildlife.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clayton T. Lamb
- Department of BiologyUniversity of British ColumbiaKelownaBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Roland Willson
- West Moberly First NationsMoberly LakeBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Carmen Richter
- Saulteau First NationsMoberly LakeBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | | | | | - Bruce Muir
- West Moberly First NationsMoberly LakeBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | | | - Estelle Lavis
- Saulteau First NationsMoberly LakeBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | | | - Line Giguere
- Wildlife InfometricsMackenzieBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Tamara Dokkie
- West Moberly First NationsMoberly LakeBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Stan Boutin
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
| | - Adam T. Ford
- Department of BiologyUniversity of British ColumbiaKelownaBritish ColumbiaCanada
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9
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Ford AT, Noonan MJ, Bollefer K, Gill R, Legebokow C, Serrouya R. The effects of maternal penning on the movement ecology of mountain caribou. Anim Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. T. Ford
- Department of Biology The University of British Columbia Kelowna BC Canada
| | - M. J. Noonan
- Department of Biology The University of British Columbia Kelowna BC Canada
| | - K. Bollefer
- Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation Revelstoke BC Canada
| | - R. Gill
- Revelstoke Caribou Rearing in the Wild Society Revelstoke BC Canada
| | - C. Legebokow
- Resource Stewardship Division, Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Province of British Columbia Revelstoke BC Canada
| | - R. Serrouya
- Caribou Monitoring Unit, Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada
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10
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Mueller M, Johnson CJ, McNay RS. Influence of maternity penning on the success and timing of parturition by mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). CAN J ZOOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2021-0144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Invasive conservation actions that require the capture and handling of individual animals are common, but the implications for both survival and reproduction are often not studied. Across North America, most populations of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou Gmelin, 1788) are Threatened or Endangered. Maternity penning, where pregnant females are held in an enclosure until the calf is less vulnerable to predation, is one conservation action that is designed to increase population growth. Few studies have reported the influence of maternity penning on the occurrence or timing of parturition and the implications for reproduction. We quantified parturition success and dates of penned and free-ranging caribou within the Klinse-Za population of caribou found across east-central British Columbia, Canada. Parturition dates were identified using daily observations for penned caribou (n=41) and estimated dates for free-ranging caribou (n=27) generated using statistical modelling of GPS collar data. We related parturition outcomes to a range of ecological and environmental variables. We found that the occurrence and date of parturition did not differ between penned and free-ranging caribou. For all monitored animals there was an earlier calving date during years of higher snowfall and warmer winter weather. Our results suggested that maternity penning, a potentially invasive conservation action, did not increase or decrease the probability or date of parturition for this study population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariah Mueller
- University of Northern British Columbia, 6727, Prince George, Canada
| | - Chris J. Johnson
- University of Northern British Columbia, 6727, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Prince George, Canada
| | - R. Scott McNay
- Wildlife Infometrics, Inc., Research, Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada
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Johnson CJ, Ray JC, St‐Laurent M. Efficacy and ethics of intensive predator management to save endangered caribou. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Chris J. Johnson
- Ecosystem Science and Management University of Northern British Columbia Prince George British Columbia Canada
| | - Justina C. Ray
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada Toronto Ontario Canada
| | - Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie Université du Québec à Rimouski, Centre for Forest Research, Centre for Northern Studies Rimouski Québec Canada
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12
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Webber QM, Ferraro K, Hendrix J, Vander Wal E. What do caribou eat? A review of the literature on caribou diet. CAN J ZOOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2021-0162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Historically the study of diet caribou and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus (Gmelin, 1788)) has been specific to herds and few comprehensive circumpolar analyses of Rangifer diet exist. As a result, the importance of certain diet items may play an outsized role in the caribou diet zeitgeist, e.g., lichen. It is incumbent to challenge this notion and test the relevant importance of various diet items within the context of prevailing hypotheses. We provide a systematic overview of 30 caribou studies reporting caribou diet and test biologically relevant hypotheses about spatial and temporal dietary variation. Our results indicate that in the winter caribou primarily consume lichen, but in warmer seasons, and primary productivity is lower, caribou primarily consume graminoids and other vascular plants. In more productive environments, where caribou have more competitors and predators, consumption of lichen increased. Overall, our description of caribou diet reveals that caribou diet is highly variable, but in circumstances where they can consume vascular plants, they will. As climate change affects Boreal and Arctic ecosystems, the type and volume of food consumed by caribou has become an increasingly important focus for conservation and management of caribou.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quinn M.R. Webber
- Memorial University of Newfoundland, 7512, Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
- University of Colorado Boulder, 1877, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Boulder, Colorado, United States
| | - Kristy Ferraro
- Yale University, 5755, School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
| | - Jack Hendrix
- Memorial University of Newfoundland, 7512, Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Memorial University of Newfoundland, 7512, Biology, 232 Elizabeth Ave, Saint John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, A1B 3X9,
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Heard DC, Zimmerman KL. Fall supplemental feeding increases population growth rate of an endangered caribou herd. PeerJ 2021; 9:e10708. [PMID: 33854825 PMCID: PMC7953878 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Most woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) populations are declining primarily because of unsustainable predation resulting from habitat-mediated apparent competition. Wolf (Canis lupus) reduction is an effective recovery option because it addresses the direct effect of predation. We considered the possibility that the indirect effects of predation might also affect caribou population dynamics by adversely affecting summer foraging behaviour. If spring and/or summer nutrition was inadequate, then supplemental feeding in fall might compensate for that limitation and contribute to population growth. Improved nutrition and therefore body condition going into winter could increase adult survival and lead to improved reproductive success the next spring. To test that hypothesis, we fed high-quality food pellets to free-ranging caribou in the Kennedy Siding caribou herd each fall for six years, starting in 2014, to see if population growth rate increased. Beginning in winter 2015–16, the Province of British Columbia began a concurrent annual program to promote caribou population increase by attempting to remove most wolves within the Kennedy Siding and the adjacent caribou herds’ ranges. To evaluate the impact of feeding, we compared lambdas before and after feeding began, and to the population trend in the adjacent Quintette herd over the subsequent four years. Supplemental feeding appeared to have an incremental effect on population growth. Population growth of the Kennedy Siding herd was higher in the year after feeding began (λ = 1.06) compared to previous years (λ = 0.91) and to the untreated Quintette herd (λ = 0.95). Average annual growth rate of the Kennedy Siding herd over the subsequent four years, where both feeding and wolf reduction occurred concurrently, was higher than in the Quintette herd where the only management action in those years was wolf reduction (λ = 1.16 vs. λ = 1.08). The higher growth rate of the Kennedy Siding herd was due to higher female survival (96.2%/yr vs. 88.9%/yr). Many caribou were in relatively poor condition in the fall. Consumption of supplemental food probably improved their nutritional status which ultimately led to population growth. Further feeding experiments on other caribou herds using an adaptive management approach would verify the effect of feeding as a population recovery tool. Our results support the recommendation that multiple management actions should be implemented to improve recovery prospects for caribou.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas C Heard
- Tithonus Wildlife Research, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Kathryn L Zimmerman
- Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Province of British Columbia, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
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Nagy-Reis M, Dickie M, Sólymos P, Gilbert SL, DeMars CA, Serrouya R, Boutin S. ‘WildLift’: An Open-Source Tool to Guide Decisions for Wildlife Conservation. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.564508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
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