Subpopulation structure of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus L.) in arctic and subarctic Canada
Effective management and conservation of species, subspecies, or ecotypes require an understanding of how populations are structured in space. We used satellite-tracking locations and hierarchical and fuzzy clustering to quantify subpopulations within the behaviorally different barren-ground caribou...
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ftdatacite:10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3295091.v1 2023-05-15T15:11:23+02:00 Subpopulation structure of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus L.) in arctic and subarctic Canada Nagy, John A. Johnson, Deborah L. Larter, Nicholas C. Campbell, Mitch W. Derocher, Andrew E. Allicia Kelly Dumond, Mathieu Allaire, Danny Croft, Bruno 2016 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3295091.v1 https://figshare.com/collections/Subpopulation_structure_of_caribou_i_Rangifer_tarandus_i_L_in_arctic_and_subarctic_Canada/3295091/1 unknown Figshare https://dx.doi.org/10.1890/10-1410.1 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3295091 CC-BY http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us CC-BY Environmental Science Ecology FOS Biological sciences Collection article 2016 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3295091.v1 https://doi.org/10.1890/10-1410.1 https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3295091 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z Effective management and conservation of species, subspecies, or ecotypes require an understanding of how populations are structured in space. We used satellite-tracking locations and hierarchical and fuzzy clustering to quantify subpopulations within the behaviorally different barren-ground caribou ( Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus ), Dolphin and Union island caribou ( R. t. groenlandicus × pearyi ), and boreal ( R. t. caribou ) caribou ecotypes in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada. Using a novel approach, we verified that the previously recognized Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West, Bluenose-East, Bathurst, Beverly, Qamanirjuaq, and Lorillard barren-ground subpopulations were robust and that the Queen Maude Gulf and Wager Bay barren-ground subpopulations were organized as individuals. Dolphin and Union island and boreal caribou formed one and two distinct subpopulation, respectively, and were organized as individuals. Robust subpopulations were structured by strong annual spatial affiliation among females; subpopulations organized as individuals were structured by migratory connectivity, barriers to movement, and/or habitat discontinuity. One barren-ground subpopulation used two calving grounds, and one calving ground was used by two barren-ground subpopulations, indicating that these caribou cannot be reliably assigned to subpopulations solely by calving-ground use. They should be classified by annual spatial affiliation among females. Annual-range size and path lengths varied significantly among ecotypes, including mountain woodland caribou ( R. t. caribou ), and reflected behavioral differences. An east–west cline in annual-range sizes and path lengths among migratory barren-ground subpopulations likely reflected differences in subpopulation size and habitat conditions and further supported the subpopulation structure identified. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Northwest Territories Nunavut Rangifer tarandus Subarctic Wager Bay DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) Arctic Canada Cape Bathurst ENVELOPE(-128.068,-128.068,70.579,70.579) Maude ENVELOPE(168.417,168.417,-83.150,-83.150) Northwest Territories Nunavut Union Island ENVELOPE(-111.935,-111.935,61.934,61.934) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
op_collection_id |
ftdatacite |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Environmental Science Ecology FOS Biological sciences |
spellingShingle |
Environmental Science Ecology FOS Biological sciences Nagy, John A. Johnson, Deborah L. Larter, Nicholas C. Campbell, Mitch W. Derocher, Andrew E. Allicia Kelly Dumond, Mathieu Allaire, Danny Croft, Bruno Subpopulation structure of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus L.) in arctic and subarctic Canada |
topic_facet |
Environmental Science Ecology FOS Biological sciences |
description |
Effective management and conservation of species, subspecies, or ecotypes require an understanding of how populations are structured in space. We used satellite-tracking locations and hierarchical and fuzzy clustering to quantify subpopulations within the behaviorally different barren-ground caribou ( Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus ), Dolphin and Union island caribou ( R. t. groenlandicus × pearyi ), and boreal ( R. t. caribou ) caribou ecotypes in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada. Using a novel approach, we verified that the previously recognized Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West, Bluenose-East, Bathurst, Beverly, Qamanirjuaq, and Lorillard barren-ground subpopulations were robust and that the Queen Maude Gulf and Wager Bay barren-ground subpopulations were organized as individuals. Dolphin and Union island and boreal caribou formed one and two distinct subpopulation, respectively, and were organized as individuals. Robust subpopulations were structured by strong annual spatial affiliation among females; subpopulations organized as individuals were structured by migratory connectivity, barriers to movement, and/or habitat discontinuity. One barren-ground subpopulation used two calving grounds, and one calving ground was used by two barren-ground subpopulations, indicating that these caribou cannot be reliably assigned to subpopulations solely by calving-ground use. They should be classified by annual spatial affiliation among females. Annual-range size and path lengths varied significantly among ecotypes, including mountain woodland caribou ( R. t. caribou ), and reflected behavioral differences. An east–west cline in annual-range sizes and path lengths among migratory barren-ground subpopulations likely reflected differences in subpopulation size and habitat conditions and further supported the subpopulation structure identified. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nagy, John A. Johnson, Deborah L. Larter, Nicholas C. Campbell, Mitch W. Derocher, Andrew E. Allicia Kelly Dumond, Mathieu Allaire, Danny Croft, Bruno |
author_facet |
Nagy, John A. Johnson, Deborah L. Larter, Nicholas C. Campbell, Mitch W. Derocher, Andrew E. Allicia Kelly Dumond, Mathieu Allaire, Danny Croft, Bruno |
author_sort |
Nagy, John A. |
title |
Subpopulation structure of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus L.) in arctic and subarctic Canada |
title_short |
Subpopulation structure of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus L.) in arctic and subarctic Canada |
title_full |
Subpopulation structure of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus L.) in arctic and subarctic Canada |
title_fullStr |
Subpopulation structure of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus L.) in arctic and subarctic Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Subpopulation structure of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus L.) in arctic and subarctic Canada |
title_sort |
subpopulation structure of caribou ( rangifer tarandus l.) in arctic and subarctic canada |
publisher |
Figshare |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3295091.v1 https://figshare.com/collections/Subpopulation_structure_of_caribou_i_Rangifer_tarandus_i_L_in_arctic_and_subarctic_Canada/3295091/1 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-128.068,-128.068,70.579,70.579) ENVELOPE(168.417,168.417,-83.150,-83.150) ENVELOPE(-111.935,-111.935,61.934,61.934) |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Cape Bathurst Maude Northwest Territories Nunavut Union Island |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Cape Bathurst Maude Northwest Territories Nunavut Union Island |
genre |
Arctic Northwest Territories Nunavut Rangifer tarandus Subarctic Wager Bay |
genre_facet |
Arctic Northwest Territories Nunavut Rangifer tarandus Subarctic Wager Bay |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.1890/10-1410.1 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3295091 |
op_rights |
CC-BY http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3295091.v1 https://doi.org/10.1890/10-1410.1 https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3295091 |
_version_ |
1766342242538094592 |