ARCTIC Redistribution of Calving Caribou in Response to Oil Field Development on the Arctic Slope of Alaska
ABSTRACT. Aerial surveys were conducted annually in June 1978-87 near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to determine changes in the distribution of calving caribou (Rangifer tarandus granfi) that accompanied petroleum-related development. With construction of an oil field access road through a calving concentrat...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1991
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.588.7831 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic45-4-338.pdf |
| Summary: | ABSTRACT. Aerial surveys were conducted annually in June 1978-87 near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to determine changes in the distribution of calving caribou (Rangifer tarandus granfi) that accompanied petroleum-related development. With construction of an oil field access road through a calving concentration area, mean caribou density (no./km2) decreased from 1.41 to 0.31 (P = 0.05) within 1 km and increased from 1.41 to 4.53 (P = 0.04) 5-6 km from the road. Concurrently, relative caribou use of the adjacent area declined (P < 0.02), apparently in response to increasing surface develop-ment. We suggest that perturbed distribution associated with roads reduced the capacity of the nearby area to sustain parturient females and that insufficient spacing of roads may have depressed overall calving activity. Use of traditional calving grounds and of certain areas therein appears to favor calf survival, principally through lower predation risk and improved foraging conditions. Given the possible loss of those habitats through dis-placement and the crucial importance of the reproductive process, a cautious approach to petroleum development on the Arctic Slope is warranted. |
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