Effects of environmental features and sport hunting on caribou migration in northwestern Alaska
Abstract Background Ungulate movements are influenced by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors, which may affect connectivity between key resource areas and seasonal ranges. In northwestern Alaska, one important question regarding human impacts on ungulate movement involves caribou (Rangifer taran...
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ftdatacite:10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3714181 2023-05-15T15:53:28+02:00 Effects of environmental features and sport hunting on caribou migration in northwestern Alaska Fullman, Timothy Joly, Kyle Ackerman, Andrew 2017 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3714181 https://figshare.com/collections/Effects_of_environmental_features_and_sport_hunting_on_caribou_migration_in_northwestern_Alaska/3714181 unknown Figshare https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40462-017-0095-z CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology FOS Biological sciences Sociology FOS Sociology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Science Policy Collection article 2017 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3714181 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-017-0095-z 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z Abstract Background Ungulate movements are influenced by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors, which may affect connectivity between key resource areas and seasonal ranges. In northwestern Alaska, one important question regarding human impacts on ungulate movement involves caribou (Rangifer tarandus) response to autumn hunting and related aircraft activity. While concerns have been voiced by local hunters about the influence of transporter aircraft and non-local sport hunters, there has been little quantitative analysis of the effects of hunter activity on caribou movement. We utilized a novel spatial dataset of commercial aircraft landing locations and sport hunter camps in and around Noatak National Preserve to analyze resource selection of caribou in autumn for non-local hunting activity and environmental features. We combined step selection functions with randomized shortest paths to investigate whether terrain ruggedness, river width, land cover, and hunting activity (in the form of aircraft landings and sport hunter camps) facilitated or impeded caribou movement. By varying a parameter in the randomized shortest path models, we also explored the tradeoff between exploration and exploitation in movement behavior exhibited by traveling caribou. Results We found that caribou avoided rugged terrain and areas with more river, forest, and tall shrubs while selecting for areas dominated by tussock tundra and dwarf shrubs. Migration of caribou through Noatak does not appear to be inhibited by sport hunting activity, though this does not preclude the possibility of temporary effects altering availability of caribou for individual hunters. Caribou exhibited exploratory movement, following predictions of a random walk model. This behavior may facilitate the location of remaining patches of high-quality forage prior to the onset of winter, especially during mild autumns. Conclusions Understanding animal movement behavior is fundamental to protecting critical areas of connectivity and to informing management decisions. Our study identifies migratory connectivity and hotspots of potential conflict among user groups, enabling development of policies that balance human access with species conservation. Article in Journal/Newspaper caribou Rangifer tarandus Tundra Alaska DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
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Open Polar |
collection |
DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
op_collection_id |
ftdatacite |
language |
unknown |
topic |
59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology FOS Biological sciences Sociology FOS Sociology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Science Policy |
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59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology FOS Biological sciences Sociology FOS Sociology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Science Policy Fullman, Timothy Joly, Kyle Ackerman, Andrew Effects of environmental features and sport hunting on caribou migration in northwestern Alaska |
topic_facet |
59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology FOS Biological sciences Sociology FOS Sociology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Science Policy |
description |
Abstract Background Ungulate movements are influenced by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors, which may affect connectivity between key resource areas and seasonal ranges. In northwestern Alaska, one important question regarding human impacts on ungulate movement involves caribou (Rangifer tarandus) response to autumn hunting and related aircraft activity. While concerns have been voiced by local hunters about the influence of transporter aircraft and non-local sport hunters, there has been little quantitative analysis of the effects of hunter activity on caribou movement. We utilized a novel spatial dataset of commercial aircraft landing locations and sport hunter camps in and around Noatak National Preserve to analyze resource selection of caribou in autumn for non-local hunting activity and environmental features. We combined step selection functions with randomized shortest paths to investigate whether terrain ruggedness, river width, land cover, and hunting activity (in the form of aircraft landings and sport hunter camps) facilitated or impeded caribou movement. By varying a parameter in the randomized shortest path models, we also explored the tradeoff between exploration and exploitation in movement behavior exhibited by traveling caribou. Results We found that caribou avoided rugged terrain and areas with more river, forest, and tall shrubs while selecting for areas dominated by tussock tundra and dwarf shrubs. Migration of caribou through Noatak does not appear to be inhibited by sport hunting activity, though this does not preclude the possibility of temporary effects altering availability of caribou for individual hunters. Caribou exhibited exploratory movement, following predictions of a random walk model. This behavior may facilitate the location of remaining patches of high-quality forage prior to the onset of winter, especially during mild autumns. Conclusions Understanding animal movement behavior is fundamental to protecting critical areas of connectivity and to informing management decisions. Our study identifies migratory connectivity and hotspots of potential conflict among user groups, enabling development of policies that balance human access with species conservation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fullman, Timothy Joly, Kyle Ackerman, Andrew |
author_facet |
Fullman, Timothy Joly, Kyle Ackerman, Andrew |
author_sort |
Fullman, Timothy |
title |
Effects of environmental features and sport hunting on caribou migration in northwestern Alaska |
title_short |
Effects of environmental features and sport hunting on caribou migration in northwestern Alaska |
title_full |
Effects of environmental features and sport hunting on caribou migration in northwestern Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Effects of environmental features and sport hunting on caribou migration in northwestern Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of environmental features and sport hunting on caribou migration in northwestern Alaska |
title_sort |
effects of environmental features and sport hunting on caribou migration in northwestern alaska |
publisher |
Figshare |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3714181 https://figshare.com/collections/Effects_of_environmental_features_and_sport_hunting_on_caribou_migration_in_northwestern_Alaska/3714181 |
genre |
caribou Rangifer tarandus Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
caribou Rangifer tarandus Tundra Alaska |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40462-017-0095-z |
op_rights |
CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3714181 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-017-0095-z |
_version_ |
1766388573937860608 |