Winter distribution of woodland caribou in relation to clear-cut logging in west-central Alberta
The responses of a herd of migratory woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) to timber harvesting that fragmented about 11% of their winter range in west-central Alberta were examined in this study. From 1981 to 1996, 45 caribou were radio-collared and monitored during the initiation and comple...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
2000
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z00-094 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z00-094 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z00-094 2024-06-23T07:56:22+00:00 Winter distribution of woodland caribou in relation to clear-cut logging in west-central Alberta Smith, Kirby G Ficht, E Janet Hobson, David Sorensen, Troy C Hervieux, David 2000 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z00-094 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z00-094 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 78, issue 8, page 1433-1440 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2000 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z00-094 2024-06-13T04:10:53Z The responses of a herd of migratory woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) to timber harvesting that fragmented about 11% of their winter range in west-central Alberta were examined in this study. From 1981 to 1996, 45 caribou were radio-collared and monitored during the initiation and completion of first-pass timber harvest (50% removal). Variables examined were home-range size, daily movement rates, and distance to the nearest cut block for radio-collared individuals. Daily movement rates and individual winter range sizes decreased as timber harvesting progressed. Caribou avoided using recently fragmented areas by an average of 1.2 km. If fragmentation of the winter range continues through timber harvesting and other industrial activities, the "spacing out" antipredator strategy used by caribou may be compromised. Based on these findings, timber-harvesting strategies are recommended that (i) ensure an adequate area of usable habitat to support the current population, (ii) minimize the amount of fragmented area, and (iii) in the short term avoid presently defined core use areas. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rangifer tarandus Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 78 8 1433 1440 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
The responses of a herd of migratory woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) to timber harvesting that fragmented about 11% of their winter range in west-central Alberta were examined in this study. From 1981 to 1996, 45 caribou were radio-collared and monitored during the initiation and completion of first-pass timber harvest (50% removal). Variables examined were home-range size, daily movement rates, and distance to the nearest cut block for radio-collared individuals. Daily movement rates and individual winter range sizes decreased as timber harvesting progressed. Caribou avoided using recently fragmented areas by an average of 1.2 km. If fragmentation of the winter range continues through timber harvesting and other industrial activities, the "spacing out" antipredator strategy used by caribou may be compromised. Based on these findings, timber-harvesting strategies are recommended that (i) ensure an adequate area of usable habitat to support the current population, (ii) minimize the amount of fragmented area, and (iii) in the short term avoid presently defined core use areas. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smith, Kirby G Ficht, E Janet Hobson, David Sorensen, Troy C Hervieux, David |
spellingShingle |
Smith, Kirby G Ficht, E Janet Hobson, David Sorensen, Troy C Hervieux, David Winter distribution of woodland caribou in relation to clear-cut logging in west-central Alberta |
author_facet |
Smith, Kirby G Ficht, E Janet Hobson, David Sorensen, Troy C Hervieux, David |
author_sort |
Smith, Kirby G |
title |
Winter distribution of woodland caribou in relation to clear-cut logging in west-central Alberta |
title_short |
Winter distribution of woodland caribou in relation to clear-cut logging in west-central Alberta |
title_full |
Winter distribution of woodland caribou in relation to clear-cut logging in west-central Alberta |
title_fullStr |
Winter distribution of woodland caribou in relation to clear-cut logging in west-central Alberta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Winter distribution of woodland caribou in relation to clear-cut logging in west-central Alberta |
title_sort |
winter distribution of woodland caribou in relation to clear-cut logging in west-central alberta |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2000 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z00-094 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z00-094 |
genre |
Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 78, issue 8, page 1433-1440 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z00-094 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
78 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
1433 |
op_container_end_page |
1440 |
_version_ |
1802649404386050048 |