ARCTIC Food Selection during Early Lactation by Caribou Calving on the Tundra in Quebec

• Main Authors: Michel Crgte, Jean Huot, Line Gauthier
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1989
• Subjects: Arctic; Rivière aux Feuilles; Rivière George; Tundra
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.564.1580; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic43-1-60.pdf

compare vegetation composition. Lichens occupied more than 50 % of the ground cover at Rivière aux Feuilles, whereas mosses, bare soil, and graminoids prevailed at Rivière George. Shrubs were more abundant on Rivière aux Feuilles, but the difference was not significant. Plant cover was similar whether sampling sites were selected at random or based on the presence of caribou. Within a season, diets of lactating caribou determined fromanalysesof rumen contents reflected thedifferencesinvegetationcover. In June, lactatingfemales from theRivièreGeorge herd ate fewer lichens than those of the Rivière aux Feuilles, whereas in July their rumen contained fewer leaves of deciduous shrubs. In Rivière George caribou, graminoids compensated for the low lichen and leaf content in both collection periods; these animals exerted a high selection, particularly for lichens, which were 25 times less available but only 1.5-2 times less abundant in rumina. In July, fragments of CIadina sp. and leaves of Betula glundulosu were especially scarce in Rivière George samples. Protein contents of washed rumen samples were lower for both periods at Rivière George. This pattern of food selection by Rivière George caribou may be due both to long-term grazing of the summer range and to eco-climatic differences. Key words: caribou, food, grazing, lactation, Quebec, Rangifer, tundra, vegetation RÉSUMÉ. Les habitats utilisés à la mise bas et en été par deux grands troupeaux de caribous, ceux de la Rivière aux Feuilles et de la Rivière George