Development of a model ensemble to predict Peary caribou populations in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Abstract In the field of biological conservation, mathematical modeling has been an indispensable tool to advance our understanding of population dynamics. Modeling rare and endangered species with complex ecophysiological tools can be challenging due to the constraints imposed by data availability....
Published in: | Ecosphere |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2019
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2976 https://doaj.org/article/3732071a38464e67bcec7212e2ae2221 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3732071a38464e67bcec7212e2ae2221 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3732071a38464e67bcec7212e2ae2221 2023-05-15T14:28:43+02:00 Development of a model ensemble to predict Peary caribou populations in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago Samarth Kaluskar E. Agnes Blukacz‐Richards Cheryl Ann Johnson Yuhong He Alexandre Langlois Dong‐Kyun Kim George Arhonditsis 2019-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2976 https://doaj.org/article/3732071a38464e67bcec7212e2ae2221 EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2976 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.2976 https://doaj.org/article/3732071a38464e67bcec7212e2ae2221 Ecosphere, Vol 10, Iss 12, Pp n/a-n/a (2019) Bayesian inference Canadian Arctic Archipelago climate change ensemble modeling Peary caribou Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2976 2022-12-31T14:15:22Z Abstract In the field of biological conservation, mathematical modeling has been an indispensable tool to advance our understanding of population dynamics. Modeling rare and endangered species with complex ecophysiological tools can be challenging due to the constraints imposed by data availability. One strategy to overcome the mismatch between what we are trying to learn from a modeling exercise and the available empirical knowledge is to develop statistical models that tend to be more parsimonious. In the present study, we introduce a spatially explicit modeling framework to examine the strength and nature of the relationships of snow density and vegetation abundance with Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) populations. Peary caribou are vital to the livelihood and culture of High Arctic Inuit communities, but changing climatic conditions and anthropogenic disturbances may affect the integrity of this endemic species population. Owing to an estimated decline of over 35% during the last three generations, a recent assessment by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assigned a Threatened status to Peary caribou in 2015. Recognizing the uncertainty typically associated with the selection of the best subset of explanatory variables and their optimal functional relationship with the response variable, we examined four models across six island complexes (Banks, Axel Heiberg, Melville, Bathurst, Mackenzie King, and Boothia) of the Arctic Archipelago and formulated two ensembles to synthesize their predictions into averaged Peary caribou population distributions. Our analysis showed that an ensemble strategy with region‐specific weights displayed the highest performance and most balanced error across the six island complexes. The causal linkages between snow, vegetation abundance, and Peary caribou did manifest themselves with the models examined, but the noise‐to‐signal ratios of the corresponding regression coefficients were generally high and there were instances where they were not ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Archipelago Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago Climate change inuit Rangifer tarandus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago Canada Peary ENVELOPE(-63.867,-63.867,-65.250,-65.250) Heiberg ENVELOPE(13.964,13.964,66.424,66.424) Ecosphere 10 12 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Bayesian inference Canadian Arctic Archipelago climate change ensemble modeling Peary caribou Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Bayesian inference Canadian Arctic Archipelago climate change ensemble modeling Peary caribou Ecology QH540-549.5 Samarth Kaluskar E. Agnes Blukacz‐Richards Cheryl Ann Johnson Yuhong He Alexandre Langlois Dong‐Kyun Kim George Arhonditsis Development of a model ensemble to predict Peary caribou populations in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
topic_facet |
Bayesian inference Canadian Arctic Archipelago climate change ensemble modeling Peary caribou Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract In the field of biological conservation, mathematical modeling has been an indispensable tool to advance our understanding of population dynamics. Modeling rare and endangered species with complex ecophysiological tools can be challenging due to the constraints imposed by data availability. One strategy to overcome the mismatch between what we are trying to learn from a modeling exercise and the available empirical knowledge is to develop statistical models that tend to be more parsimonious. In the present study, we introduce a spatially explicit modeling framework to examine the strength and nature of the relationships of snow density and vegetation abundance with Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) populations. Peary caribou are vital to the livelihood and culture of High Arctic Inuit communities, but changing climatic conditions and anthropogenic disturbances may affect the integrity of this endemic species population. Owing to an estimated decline of over 35% during the last three generations, a recent assessment by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assigned a Threatened status to Peary caribou in 2015. Recognizing the uncertainty typically associated with the selection of the best subset of explanatory variables and their optimal functional relationship with the response variable, we examined four models across six island complexes (Banks, Axel Heiberg, Melville, Bathurst, Mackenzie King, and Boothia) of the Arctic Archipelago and formulated two ensembles to synthesize their predictions into averaged Peary caribou population distributions. Our analysis showed that an ensemble strategy with region‐specific weights displayed the highest performance and most balanced error across the six island complexes. The causal linkages between snow, vegetation abundance, and Peary caribou did manifest themselves with the models examined, but the noise‐to‐signal ratios of the corresponding regression coefficients were generally high and there were instances where they were not ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Samarth Kaluskar E. Agnes Blukacz‐Richards Cheryl Ann Johnson Yuhong He Alexandre Langlois Dong‐Kyun Kim George Arhonditsis |
author_facet |
Samarth Kaluskar E. Agnes Blukacz‐Richards Cheryl Ann Johnson Yuhong He Alexandre Langlois Dong‐Kyun Kim George Arhonditsis |
author_sort |
Samarth Kaluskar |
title |
Development of a model ensemble to predict Peary caribou populations in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
title_short |
Development of a model ensemble to predict Peary caribou populations in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
title_full |
Development of a model ensemble to predict Peary caribou populations in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
title_fullStr |
Development of a model ensemble to predict Peary caribou populations in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
title_full_unstemmed |
Development of a model ensemble to predict Peary caribou populations in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
title_sort |
development of a model ensemble to predict peary caribou populations in the canadian arctic archipelago |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2976 https://doaj.org/article/3732071a38464e67bcec7212e2ae2221 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.867,-63.867,-65.250,-65.250) ENVELOPE(13.964,13.964,66.424,66.424) |
geographic |
Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago Canada Peary Heiberg |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago Canada Peary Heiberg |
genre |
Arctic Archipelago Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago Climate change inuit Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Archipelago Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago Climate change inuit Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
Ecosphere, Vol 10, Iss 12, Pp n/a-n/a (2019) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2976 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.2976 https://doaj.org/article/3732071a38464e67bcec7212e2ae2221 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2976 |
container_title |
Ecosphere |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
12 |
_version_ |
1766302870094741504 |