Critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate
Abstract Summer diets are crucial for large herbivores in the subarctic and are affected by weather, harassment from insects and a variety of environmental changes linked to climate. Yet, understanding foraging behavior and diet of large herbivores is challenging in the subarctic because of their re...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:da645307b8da4437b3d7ade5df8ac2c8 2023-05-15T15:53:29+02:00 Critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate Libby Ehlers Gabrielle Coulombe Jim Herriges Torsten Bentzen Michael Suitor Kyle Joly Mark Hebblewhite 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8349 https://doaj.org/article/da645307b8da4437b3d7ade5df8ac2c8 EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8349 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.8349 https://doaj.org/article/da645307b8da4437b3d7ade5df8ac2c8 Ecology and Evolution, Vol 11, Iss 24, Pp 17835-17872 (2021) animal‐borne video cameras behavior patterns caribou citizen‐science insect harassment summer diet Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8349 2022-12-31T04:38:32Z Abstract Summer diets are crucial for large herbivores in the subarctic and are affected by weather, harassment from insects and a variety of environmental changes linked to climate. Yet, understanding foraging behavior and diet of large herbivores is challenging in the subarctic because of their remote ranges. We used GPS video‐camera collars to observe behaviors and summer diets of the migratory Fortymile Caribou Herd (Rangifer tarandus granti) across Alaska, USA and the Yukon, Canada. First, we characterized caribou behavior. Second, we tested if videos could be used to quantify changes in the probability of eating events. Third, we estimated summer diets at the finest taxonomic resolution possible through videos. Finally, we compared summer diet estimates from video collars to microhistological analysis of fecal pellets. We classified 18,134 videos from 30 female caribou over two summers (2018 and 2019). Caribou behaviors included eating (mean = 43.5%), ruminating (25.6%), travelling (14.0%), stationary awake (11.3%) and napping (5.1%). Eating was restricted by insect harassment. We classified forage(s) consumed in 5,549 videos where diet composition (monthly) highlighted a strong tradeoff between lichens and shrubs; shrubs dominated diets in June and July when lichen use declined. We identified 63 species, 70 genus and 33 family groups of summer forages from videos. After adjusting for digestibility, monthly estimates of diet composition were strongly correlated at the scale of the forage functional type (i.e., forage groups composed of forbs, graminoids, mosses, shrubs and lichens; r = 0.79, p < .01). Using video collars, we identified (1) a pronounced tradeoff in summer foraging between lichens and shrubs and (2) the costs of insect harassment on eating. Understanding caribou foraging ecology is needed to plan for their long‐term conservation across the circumpolar north, and video collars can provide a powerful approach across remote regions. Article in Journal/Newspaper caribou Rangifer tarandus Subarctic Alaska Yukon Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada Yukon Ecology and Evolution 11 24 17835 17872 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
animal‐borne video cameras behavior patterns caribou citizen‐science insect harassment summer diet Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
animal‐borne video cameras behavior patterns caribou citizen‐science insect harassment summer diet Ecology QH540-549.5 Libby Ehlers Gabrielle Coulombe Jim Herriges Torsten Bentzen Michael Suitor Kyle Joly Mark Hebblewhite Critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate |
topic_facet |
animal‐borne video cameras behavior patterns caribou citizen‐science insect harassment summer diet Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Summer diets are crucial for large herbivores in the subarctic and are affected by weather, harassment from insects and a variety of environmental changes linked to climate. Yet, understanding foraging behavior and diet of large herbivores is challenging in the subarctic because of their remote ranges. We used GPS video‐camera collars to observe behaviors and summer diets of the migratory Fortymile Caribou Herd (Rangifer tarandus granti) across Alaska, USA and the Yukon, Canada. First, we characterized caribou behavior. Second, we tested if videos could be used to quantify changes in the probability of eating events. Third, we estimated summer diets at the finest taxonomic resolution possible through videos. Finally, we compared summer diet estimates from video collars to microhistological analysis of fecal pellets. We classified 18,134 videos from 30 female caribou over two summers (2018 and 2019). Caribou behaviors included eating (mean = 43.5%), ruminating (25.6%), travelling (14.0%), stationary awake (11.3%) and napping (5.1%). Eating was restricted by insect harassment. We classified forage(s) consumed in 5,549 videos where diet composition (monthly) highlighted a strong tradeoff between lichens and shrubs; shrubs dominated diets in June and July when lichen use declined. We identified 63 species, 70 genus and 33 family groups of summer forages from videos. After adjusting for digestibility, monthly estimates of diet composition were strongly correlated at the scale of the forage functional type (i.e., forage groups composed of forbs, graminoids, mosses, shrubs and lichens; r = 0.79, p < .01). Using video collars, we identified (1) a pronounced tradeoff in summer foraging between lichens and shrubs and (2) the costs of insect harassment on eating. Understanding caribou foraging ecology is needed to plan for their long‐term conservation across the circumpolar north, and video collars can provide a powerful approach across remote regions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Libby Ehlers Gabrielle Coulombe Jim Herriges Torsten Bentzen Michael Suitor Kyle Joly Mark Hebblewhite |
author_facet |
Libby Ehlers Gabrielle Coulombe Jim Herriges Torsten Bentzen Michael Suitor Kyle Joly Mark Hebblewhite |
author_sort |
Libby Ehlers |
title |
Critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate |
title_short |
Critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate |
title_full |
Critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate |
title_fullStr |
Critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate |
title_full_unstemmed |
Critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate |
title_sort |
critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8349 https://doaj.org/article/da645307b8da4437b3d7ade5df8ac2c8 |
geographic |
Canada Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Canada Yukon |
genre |
caribou Rangifer tarandus Subarctic Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
caribou Rangifer tarandus Subarctic Alaska Yukon |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 11, Iss 24, Pp 17835-17872 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8349 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.8349 https://doaj.org/article/da645307b8da4437b3d7ade5df8ac2c8 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8349 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
24 |
container_start_page |
17835 |
op_container_end_page |
17872 |
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1766388596777943040 |