ABoVE: Wolf Denning Phenology and Reproductive Success, Alaska and Canada, 2000-2017 : Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)

• Main Authors: Mahoney, P., Joly, K., Borg, B., Sorum, M., Rinaldi, T., Saalfeld, D., Golden, H., Latham, D., Kelly, A., Mangipane, B., Lambert, C., Neufeld, L., Hebblewhite, M., Boleman, N., Prugh, L.R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center 2021
• Subjects: ATMOSPHERE, ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, OSCILLATIONS,; ATMOSPHERE, ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE, SURFACE TEMPERATURE, MAXIMUM/MINIMUM TEMPERATURE; BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, MAMMALS, CARNIVORES; ATMOSPHERE, PRECIPITATION, PRECIPITATION AMOUNT,; BIOSPHERE, ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS,; BIOSPHERE, VEGETATION, VEGETATION INDEX, NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX NDVI; CLIMATE INDICATORS, BIOSPHERIC INDICATORS, PHENOLOGICAL CHANGES, ANIMAL PHENOLOGICAL CHANGES; CLIMATE INDICATORS, BIOSPHERIC INDICATORS, PHENOLOGICAL CHANGES, PLANT PHENOLOGICAL CHANGES; TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE, SNOW/ICE, SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT,; CLIMATE INDICATORS, LAND SURFACE/AGRICULTURE INDICATORS, LENGTH OF GROWING SEASON,; FIELD SURVEYS, GPS; Terra, MODIS; Environmental Modeling, Computer; wolf habitats; climate covariates; denning phenology; wolf reproductive success; regression analysis; wolf denning; Arctic; Canada; Canis lupus; gray wolf; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3334/ornldaac/1846; https://daac.ornl.gov/cgi-bin/dsviewer.pl?ds_id=1846

This dataset provides annual gray wolf (Canis lupus) denning spatial information and timing, associated climatic and phenologic metrics, and reproductive success (i.e., pup survival) in wolf populations across areas of western Canada and Alaska within the NASA ABoVE Core Domain. The study encompasses 18 years between the period 2000-2017. Wolves were captured from eight populations following standard animal care protocols and released with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars. Data from 388 wolves were used to estimate den initiation dates (n=227 dens of 106 packs) and reproductive success in the eight populations. Each population was monitored from 1 to 12 years between 2000 and 2017. Denning parturition phenology was measured each year as the number of calendar days from January 1st to the initiation date of each documented denning event. Reproductive success was determined as to whether pups survived through the end of August following a reproductive event. To evaluate the effect of climate factors on reproductive phenology, aggregated seasonal climate metrics for temperature, precipitation, and snow water equivalent based on three biological seasons for seasonal wolf home ranges were produced. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time-series data were used to estimate phenological metrics such as the start of the growing season (SOS), length of the growing season (LOS), and time-integrated NDVI (tiNDVI), and were summarized for the populations' home range.