Leveraging Community-based Samples to Assess Health and Reproduction of Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) ...
The muskox (Ovibos moschatus), is a keystone species that is important for ecosystem health, subsistence, and culture. Despite their importance, several populations in the Canadian Arctic have experienced declines. Collaborations with communities and harvesters give us a better understanding of the...
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Graduate Studies
2023
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/prism/42529 https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/117686 |
| Summary: | The muskox (Ovibos moschatus), is a keystone species that is important for ecosystem health, subsistence, and culture. Despite their importance, several populations in the Canadian Arctic have experienced declines. Collaborations with communities and harvesters give us a better understanding of the drivers of these declines, and simultaneously help alleviate some barriers to research in the Arctic. In my thesis, I aimed to refine the use of harvester-based samples to improve muskox health and reproduction monitoring. First, I investigated the use of segmental analyses of guard hairs in muskoxen. I specifically asked whether there was a generalizable guard hair growth rate that could be applied for temporal assessment of biomarkers. To do this, I investigated guard hair growth rates from captive muskoxen over time and across body locations. I found that growth rates were faster than a previously described rate, and that growth rates varied intra-annually and across body locations. These findings indicate that ... |
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