Evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement
Abstract Fragmentation of the boreal forest by linear features, including seismic lines, has destabilized predator–prey dynamics, resulting in the decline of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ) populations. Restoration of human‐altered habitat has therefore been identified as a critical m...
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crwiley:10.1111/cobi.14004 2024-06-02T07:54:39+00:00 Evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement Dickie, Melanie Sherman, Geoff G. Sutherland, Glenn D. McNay, Robert S. Cody, Michael Cenovus Energy 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14004 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/cobi.14004 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/cobi.14004 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Conservation Biology volume 37, issue 2 ISSN 0888-8892 1523-1739 journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14004 2024-05-03T11:11:33Z Abstract Fragmentation of the boreal forest by linear features, including seismic lines, has destabilized predator–prey dynamics, resulting in the decline of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ) populations. Restoration of human‐altered habitat has therefore been identified as a critical management tool for achieving self‐sustaining woodland caribou populations. However, only recently has testing of the response of caribou and other wildlife to restoration activities been conducted. Early work has centered around assessing changes in wildlife use of restored seismic lines. We evaluated whether restoration reduces the movement rates of predators and their associated prey, which is expected to decrease predator hunting efficiency and ultimately reduce caribou mortality. We developed a new method for using cameras to measure fine‐scale movement by measuring speed as animals traveled between cameras in an array. We used our method to quantify speed of caribou, moose ( Alces alces ), bears ( Ursus americanus ), and wolves ( Canis lupus ) on treated (restored) and untreated seismic lines. Restoration treatments reduced travel speeds along seismic lines of wolves by 1.38 km/h, bears by 0.55 km/h, and caribou by 1.57 km/h, but did not reduce moose travel speeds. Reduced predator and caribou speeds on treated seismic lines are predicted to decrease encounter rates between predators and caribou and thus lower caribou kill rates. However, further work is needed to determine whether reduced movement rates result in reduced encounter rates with prey, and ultimately reduced caribou mortality. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Canis lupus Rangifer tarandus Wiley Online Library Conservation Biology 37 2 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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English |
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Abstract Fragmentation of the boreal forest by linear features, including seismic lines, has destabilized predator–prey dynamics, resulting in the decline of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ) populations. Restoration of human‐altered habitat has therefore been identified as a critical management tool for achieving self‐sustaining woodland caribou populations. However, only recently has testing of the response of caribou and other wildlife to restoration activities been conducted. Early work has centered around assessing changes in wildlife use of restored seismic lines. We evaluated whether restoration reduces the movement rates of predators and their associated prey, which is expected to decrease predator hunting efficiency and ultimately reduce caribou mortality. We developed a new method for using cameras to measure fine‐scale movement by measuring speed as animals traveled between cameras in an array. We used our method to quantify speed of caribou, moose ( Alces alces ), bears ( Ursus americanus ), and wolves ( Canis lupus ) on treated (restored) and untreated seismic lines. Restoration treatments reduced travel speeds along seismic lines of wolves by 1.38 km/h, bears by 0.55 km/h, and caribou by 1.57 km/h, but did not reduce moose travel speeds. Reduced predator and caribou speeds on treated seismic lines are predicted to decrease encounter rates between predators and caribou and thus lower caribou kill rates. However, further work is needed to determine whether reduced movement rates result in reduced encounter rates with prey, and ultimately reduced caribou mortality. |
author2 |
Cenovus Energy |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dickie, Melanie Sherman, Geoff G. Sutherland, Glenn D. McNay, Robert S. Cody, Michael |
spellingShingle |
Dickie, Melanie Sherman, Geoff G. Sutherland, Glenn D. McNay, Robert S. Cody, Michael Evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement |
author_facet |
Dickie, Melanie Sherman, Geoff G. Sutherland, Glenn D. McNay, Robert S. Cody, Michael |
author_sort |
Dickie, Melanie |
title |
Evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement |
title_short |
Evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement |
title_full |
Evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement |
title_fullStr |
Evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement |
title_sort |
evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14004 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/cobi.14004 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/cobi.14004 |
genre |
Alces alces Canis lupus Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Alces alces Canis lupus Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
Conservation Biology volume 37, issue 2 ISSN 0888-8892 1523-1739 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14004 |
container_title |
Conservation Biology |
container_volume |
37 |
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2 |
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1800742526366253056 |