Factors influencing the seasonal diet selection by woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in boreal forests in Ontario
We used remote video cameras to assess seasonal diet composition of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus tarandus (L., 1758)) at three areas across the boreal forest of Ontario. Caribou consume lichens in winter, but we expected they would significantly reduce lichen consumption in favour of higher p...
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/cjz-2014-0140 2024-06-23T07:56:21+00:00 Factors influencing the seasonal diet selection by woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in boreal forests in Ontario Thompson, Ian D. Wiebe, Philip A. Mallon, Erin Rodgers, Arthur R. Fryxell, John M. Baker, James A. Reid, Douglas 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2014-0140 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2014-0140 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2014-0140 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 93, issue 2, page 87-98 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2015 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2014-0140 2024-05-30T08:13:49Z We used remote video cameras to assess seasonal diet composition of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus tarandus (L., 1758)) at three areas across the boreal forest of Ontario. Caribou consume lichens in winter, but we expected they would significantly reduce lichen consumption in favour of higher protein levels in green plants in summer. We sampled videos from 23 caribou, from 2 years, to derive seasonal diet composition. Diet differed among seasons and study areas, except in winter when lichens dominated. Diet breadth doubled from winter to summer, but overlap between seasons was still >60%. Green plants were less commonly eaten than we expected, only three genera were preferred, and few species constituted more than 2% of the diet. Preferred foods varied by land-cover types. Diet differed between managed and unmanaged landscapes but did not result from use of plant species found in successional habitats. Caribou selected a nonoptimal diet in the snow-free seasons, especially with respect to protein, suggesting factors other than nutrition influenced diet choice, and indicating the possibility of bottom-up limitation on production. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rangifer tarandus Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 93 2 87 98 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
We used remote video cameras to assess seasonal diet composition of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus tarandus (L., 1758)) at three areas across the boreal forest of Ontario. Caribou consume lichens in winter, but we expected they would significantly reduce lichen consumption in favour of higher protein levels in green plants in summer. We sampled videos from 23 caribou, from 2 years, to derive seasonal diet composition. Diet differed among seasons and study areas, except in winter when lichens dominated. Diet breadth doubled from winter to summer, but overlap between seasons was still >60%. Green plants were less commonly eaten than we expected, only three genera were preferred, and few species constituted more than 2% of the diet. Preferred foods varied by land-cover types. Diet differed between managed and unmanaged landscapes but did not result from use of plant species found in successional habitats. Caribou selected a nonoptimal diet in the snow-free seasons, especially with respect to protein, suggesting factors other than nutrition influenced diet choice, and indicating the possibility of bottom-up limitation on production. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thompson, Ian D. Wiebe, Philip A. Mallon, Erin Rodgers, Arthur R. Fryxell, John M. Baker, James A. Reid, Douglas |
spellingShingle |
Thompson, Ian D. Wiebe, Philip A. Mallon, Erin Rodgers, Arthur R. Fryxell, John M. Baker, James A. Reid, Douglas Factors influencing the seasonal diet selection by woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in boreal forests in Ontario |
author_facet |
Thompson, Ian D. Wiebe, Philip A. Mallon, Erin Rodgers, Arthur R. Fryxell, John M. Baker, James A. Reid, Douglas |
author_sort |
Thompson, Ian D. |
title |
Factors influencing the seasonal diet selection by woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in boreal forests in Ontario |
title_short |
Factors influencing the seasonal diet selection by woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in boreal forests in Ontario |
title_full |
Factors influencing the seasonal diet selection by woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in boreal forests in Ontario |
title_fullStr |
Factors influencing the seasonal diet selection by woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in boreal forests in Ontario |
title_full_unstemmed |
Factors influencing the seasonal diet selection by woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in boreal forests in Ontario |
title_sort |
factors influencing the seasonal diet selection by woodland caribou ( rangifer tarandus tarandus) in boreal forests in ontario |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2014-0140 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2014-0140 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2014-0140 |
genre |
Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 93, issue 2, page 87-98 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2014-0140 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
93 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
87 |
op_container_end_page |
98 |
_version_ |
1802649392702816256 |