Climate, caribou and human needs linked by analysis of Indigenous and scientific knowledge ...

• Main Authors: Gagnon, Catherine A., Hamel, Sandra, Russell, Don E., Andre, James, Buckle, Annie, Haogak, David, Pascal, Jessi, Schafer, Esau, Powell, Todd, Svoboda, Michael Y., Berteaux, Dominique
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2023
• Subjects: FOS: Other natural sciences; Merra; Caribou Range; Tundra
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.msbcc2g2z; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.msbcc2g2z

Migratory tundra caribou are ecologically and culturally critical in the circumpolar North. However, they are declining almost everywhere in North America, likely due to natural variation exacerbated by climate change and human activities. Yet, the interconnectedness between climate, caribou, and human well-being has received little attention. To address this gap, we bridged Indigenous and scientific knowledge in a single model, using as an example the Porcupine caribou herd social-ecological system. Our analysis, involving 688 (fall season) and 616 (spring season) interviews conducted over nine years with 405 (fall season) and 390 (spring season) Indigenous hunters from nine communities, demonstrates that environmental conditions, large-scale temporal changes associated with caribou demography, and cultural practices affect hunters’ capacity to meet their needs in caribou. Our quantitative approach bolsters our understanding of the complex relationships between ecosystems and human welfare in environments ... : Climate data. The seasonal weather variables present in this database were calculated based on daily weather variables specific to the seasonal ranges used by the PCH during the fall and spring. These daily weather variables are part of the CircumArctic RangiferMonitoring and Assessment (CARMA) network’s caribou range climate database (https://carma.caff.is/. The CARMA database was developed using NASA’s MERRA database, containing remotely sensed daily averaged climate data with a spatial resolution of 0.50° Lat. x 0.66° Long. Caribou distribution data. The caribou distribution variables present in this database correspond to median caribou distances (m) to communities for the spring and fall seasons. These were calculated based on satellite tracking locations of adult Porcupine caribou females documented by U.S. and Canadian governmental agencies (see details at http://www.pcmb.ca/herd). During 2000–2008, 32 cows were monitored for a total of 7,428 locations. The average duration of individual monitoring ...