Remote sensing, snow modelling, survey data and Indigenous Knowledge show how snow and sea-ice conditions affect Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) distribution and inter-island and island–mainland movements
Accelerated warming of the Arctic has reduced sea ice and has increased the occurrence of winter extreme events like rain-on-snow and storms that impact snow-cover densification, affecting Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) seasonal movements and grazing conditions. We used caribou movements b...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7964 https://doaj.org/article/ed3efb533f124211a3f3e81fef28df70 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ed3efb533f124211a3f3e81fef28df70 2023-05-15T14:55:34+02:00 Remote sensing, snow modelling, survey data and Indigenous Knowledge show how snow and sea-ice conditions affect Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) distribution and inter-island and island–mainland movements Coralie Gautier Alexandre Langlois Vincent Sasseville Erin Neave Cheryl Ann Johnson 2022-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7964 https://doaj.org/article/ed3efb533f124211a3f3e81fef28df70 EN eng Norwegian Polar Institute https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/7964/14838 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v41.7964 https://doaj.org/article/ed3efb533f124211a3f3e81fef28df70 Polar Research, Vol 41, Pp 1-16 (2022) climate change arctic amplification seasonal movement snow densification Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7964 2022-12-30T19:54:34Z Accelerated warming of the Arctic has reduced sea ice and has increased the occurrence of winter extreme events like rain-on-snow and storms that impact snow-cover densification, affecting Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) seasonal movements and grazing conditions. We used caribou movements between Banks, Melville and Victoria islands and mainland Canada, documented from Indigenous Knowledge, to assess whether spatiotemporal trends in sea-ice anomalies (1983–2019) can be used as an indicator of caribou movement. We used the SNOWPACK model to evaluate how foraging conditions (as indexed by simulated snow properties) contribute to the prediction of caribou presence. Our results suggest that changes in sea-ice anomalies over time have impacted caribou crossings between islands: caribou no longer use areas with less sea ice whilst they continue to use areas with more sea ice. Our model evaluation shows that, when the simulated snow conditions are paired with other environmental variables, the ability of models to predict Peary caribou occurrence on land was enhanced across Banks and Melville islands. Overall, the land models suggest that caribou are more likely to occupy areas with lower density of snow accumulation and a majority of forb tundra with dwarf shrubs for Banks Island and cryptogam tundra, rush and grass for the Melville Island Complex. Our results suggest that future work monitoring changes in sea-ice and snow conditions will be important for understanding the impact of climate change on the distribution of Peary caribou in the western Arctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Banks Island Climate change Polar Research Rangifer tarandus Sea ice Tundra Melville Island Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Canada Peary ENVELOPE(-63.867,-63.867,-65.250,-65.250) Polar Research 41 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
climate change arctic amplification seasonal movement snow densification Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
climate change arctic amplification seasonal movement snow densification Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 Coralie Gautier Alexandre Langlois Vincent Sasseville Erin Neave Cheryl Ann Johnson Remote sensing, snow modelling, survey data and Indigenous Knowledge show how snow and sea-ice conditions affect Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) distribution and inter-island and island–mainland movements |
topic_facet |
climate change arctic amplification seasonal movement snow densification Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
Accelerated warming of the Arctic has reduced sea ice and has increased the occurrence of winter extreme events like rain-on-snow and storms that impact snow-cover densification, affecting Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) seasonal movements and grazing conditions. We used caribou movements between Banks, Melville and Victoria islands and mainland Canada, documented from Indigenous Knowledge, to assess whether spatiotemporal trends in sea-ice anomalies (1983–2019) can be used as an indicator of caribou movement. We used the SNOWPACK model to evaluate how foraging conditions (as indexed by simulated snow properties) contribute to the prediction of caribou presence. Our results suggest that changes in sea-ice anomalies over time have impacted caribou crossings between islands: caribou no longer use areas with less sea ice whilst they continue to use areas with more sea ice. Our model evaluation shows that, when the simulated snow conditions are paired with other environmental variables, the ability of models to predict Peary caribou occurrence on land was enhanced across Banks and Melville islands. Overall, the land models suggest that caribou are more likely to occupy areas with lower density of snow accumulation and a majority of forb tundra with dwarf shrubs for Banks Island and cryptogam tundra, rush and grass for the Melville Island Complex. Our results suggest that future work monitoring changes in sea-ice and snow conditions will be important for understanding the impact of climate change on the distribution of Peary caribou in the western Arctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Coralie Gautier Alexandre Langlois Vincent Sasseville Erin Neave Cheryl Ann Johnson |
author_facet |
Coralie Gautier Alexandre Langlois Vincent Sasseville Erin Neave Cheryl Ann Johnson |
author_sort |
Coralie Gautier |
title |
Remote sensing, snow modelling, survey data and Indigenous Knowledge show how snow and sea-ice conditions affect Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) distribution and inter-island and island–mainland movements |
title_short |
Remote sensing, snow modelling, survey data and Indigenous Knowledge show how snow and sea-ice conditions affect Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) distribution and inter-island and island–mainland movements |
title_full |
Remote sensing, snow modelling, survey data and Indigenous Knowledge show how snow and sea-ice conditions affect Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) distribution and inter-island and island–mainland movements |
title_fullStr |
Remote sensing, snow modelling, survey data and Indigenous Knowledge show how snow and sea-ice conditions affect Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) distribution and inter-island and island–mainland movements |
title_full_unstemmed |
Remote sensing, snow modelling, survey data and Indigenous Knowledge show how snow and sea-ice conditions affect Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) distribution and inter-island and island–mainland movements |
title_sort |
remote sensing, snow modelling, survey data and indigenous knowledge show how snow and sea-ice conditions affect peary caribou (rangifer tarandus pearyi) distribution and inter-island and island–mainland movements |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7964 https://doaj.org/article/ed3efb533f124211a3f3e81fef28df70 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.867,-63.867,-65.250,-65.250) |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Peary |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Peary |
genre |
Arctic Banks Island Climate change Polar Research Rangifer tarandus Sea ice Tundra Melville Island |
genre_facet |
Arctic Banks Island Climate change Polar Research Rangifer tarandus Sea ice Tundra Melville Island |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 41, Pp 1-16 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/7964/14838 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v41.7964 https://doaj.org/article/ed3efb533f124211a3f3e81fef28df70 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7964 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
41 |
_version_ |
1766327605881995264 |