Body size of female calves and natality rates of known-aged females in two adjacent Alaskan caribou herds, and implications for management
We studied body mass of female calves and natality rate of adult females in two adjacent Interior Alaskan caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) herds during 1991-2001. Mass of newborn calves was similar in both herds, but Delta calves gained significantly more mass over summer than Nelchina calves. In...
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Septentrio Academic Publishing
2003
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ftunitroemsoe:oai:ojs.henry.ub.uit.no:article/1702 2023-05-15T18:03:55+02:00 Body size of female calves and natality rates of known-aged females in two adjacent Alaskan caribou herds, and implications for management Valkenburg, Patrick Tobey, Robert W. Dale, Bruce W. Scotton, Bradley D. Ver Hoef, Jay M. 2003-04-01 application/pdf https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/1702 https://doi.org/10.7557/2.23.5.1702 eng eng Septentrio Academic Publishing https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/1702/1590 https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/1702 doi:10.7557/2.23.5.1702 Copyright (c) 2015 Patrick Valkenburg, Robert W. Tobey, Robert W. Tobey, Bruce W. Dale, Bruce W. Dale, Bradley D. Scotton, Bradley D. Scotton, Jay M. Ver Hoef, Jay M. Ver Hoef http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ CC-BY Rangifer; Vol 23 (2003): Special Issue No. 14; 203-209 1890-6729 caribou Alaska body size body mass Delta Herd metatarsus length Nelchina Herd predation Rangifer tarandus granti summer range quality winter range quality info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2003 ftunitroemsoe https://doi.org/10.7557/2.23.5.1702 2021-08-16T15:06:01Z We studied body mass of female calves and natality rate of adult females in two adjacent Interior Alaskan caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) herds during 1991-2001. Mass of newborn calves was similar in both herds, but Delta calves gained significantly more mass over summer than Nelchina calves. In contrast, Nelchina calves consistently maintained their mass during winter while Delta calves lost mass. Metatarsus length was similar in both herds in 4-month-old and 10-month-old calves, and it increased over winter in both herds. Natality rates of females >3 years old were consistently higher in the Delta Herd than in the Nelchina Herd, primarily because natality in 3- to 5-year-old Nelchina females was low. Although body mass of Delta Herd calves consistently declined over winter, we concluded that nutrition was not significantly limiting herd growth. Managers are more likely to maximize harvest by maintaining the Delta Herd near its present size (i.e., 3500), or allowing it to increase only slightly. The only real option for increasing harvestable surpluses of caribou in the Delta Herd is reducing predation during calving and summer. In contrast, we conclude that summer nutrition significantly limits potential population growth and body mass in the Nelchina Herd, and managers are more likely to maximize harvest by maintaining herd size at or below 30 000 than by allowing the herd to grow to near historical highs (i.e., 60 000-70 000). Article in Journal/Newspaper Rangifer Rangifer tarandus Alaska University of Tromsø: Septentrio Academic Publishing Rangifer 23 5 203 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Septentrio Academic Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftunitroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
caribou Alaska body size body mass Delta Herd metatarsus length Nelchina Herd predation Rangifer tarandus granti summer range quality winter range quality |
spellingShingle |
caribou Alaska body size body mass Delta Herd metatarsus length Nelchina Herd predation Rangifer tarandus granti summer range quality winter range quality Valkenburg, Patrick Tobey, Robert W. Dale, Bruce W. Scotton, Bradley D. Ver Hoef, Jay M. Body size of female calves and natality rates of known-aged females in two adjacent Alaskan caribou herds, and implications for management |
topic_facet |
caribou Alaska body size body mass Delta Herd metatarsus length Nelchina Herd predation Rangifer tarandus granti summer range quality winter range quality |
description |
We studied body mass of female calves and natality rate of adult females in two adjacent Interior Alaskan caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) herds during 1991-2001. Mass of newborn calves was similar in both herds, but Delta calves gained significantly more mass over summer than Nelchina calves. In contrast, Nelchina calves consistently maintained their mass during winter while Delta calves lost mass. Metatarsus length was similar in both herds in 4-month-old and 10-month-old calves, and it increased over winter in both herds. Natality rates of females >3 years old were consistently higher in the Delta Herd than in the Nelchina Herd, primarily because natality in 3- to 5-year-old Nelchina females was low. Although body mass of Delta Herd calves consistently declined over winter, we concluded that nutrition was not significantly limiting herd growth. Managers are more likely to maximize harvest by maintaining the Delta Herd near its present size (i.e., 3500), or allowing it to increase only slightly. The only real option for increasing harvestable surpluses of caribou in the Delta Herd is reducing predation during calving and summer. In contrast, we conclude that summer nutrition significantly limits potential population growth and body mass in the Nelchina Herd, and managers are more likely to maximize harvest by maintaining herd size at or below 30 000 than by allowing the herd to grow to near historical highs (i.e., 60 000-70 000). |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Valkenburg, Patrick Tobey, Robert W. Dale, Bruce W. Scotton, Bradley D. Ver Hoef, Jay M. |
author_facet |
Valkenburg, Patrick Tobey, Robert W. Dale, Bruce W. Scotton, Bradley D. Ver Hoef, Jay M. |
author_sort |
Valkenburg, Patrick |
title |
Body size of female calves and natality rates of known-aged females in two adjacent Alaskan caribou herds, and implications for management |
title_short |
Body size of female calves and natality rates of known-aged females in two adjacent Alaskan caribou herds, and implications for management |
title_full |
Body size of female calves and natality rates of known-aged females in two adjacent Alaskan caribou herds, and implications for management |
title_fullStr |
Body size of female calves and natality rates of known-aged females in two adjacent Alaskan caribou herds, and implications for management |
title_full_unstemmed |
Body size of female calves and natality rates of known-aged females in two adjacent Alaskan caribou herds, and implications for management |
title_sort |
body size of female calves and natality rates of known-aged females in two adjacent alaskan caribou herds, and implications for management |
publisher |
Septentrio Academic Publishing |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/1702 https://doi.org/10.7557/2.23.5.1702 |
genre |
Rangifer Rangifer tarandus Alaska |
genre_facet |
Rangifer Rangifer tarandus Alaska |
op_source |
Rangifer; Vol 23 (2003): Special Issue No. 14; 203-209 1890-6729 |
op_relation |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/1702/1590 https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/1702 doi:10.7557/2.23.5.1702 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2015 Patrick Valkenburg, Robert W. Tobey, Robert W. Tobey, Bruce W. Dale, Bruce W. Dale, Bradley D. Scotton, Bradley D. Scotton, Jay M. Ver Hoef, Jay M. Ver Hoef http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7557/2.23.5.1702 |
container_title |
Rangifer |
container_volume |
23 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
203 |
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1766175125598633984 |