The reintroduction of boreal caribou as a conservation strategy: A long-term assessment at the southern range limit
Boreal caribou were extirpated from the Charlevoix region (Québec) in the 1920s because of hunting and poaching. In 1965, the Québec government initiated a caribou reintroduction program in Charlevoix. During the winters of 1966 and 1967, a total of 48 boreal caribou were captured, translocated by p...
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Language: | English |
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Septentrio Academic Publishing
2012
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Online Access: | https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/2261 https://doi.org/10.7557/2.32.2.2261 |
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ftunitroemsoe:oai:ojs.henry.ub.uit.no:article/2261 2023-05-15T18:03:55+02:00 The reintroduction of boreal caribou as a conservation strategy: A long-term assessment at the southern range limit St-Laurent, Martin-Hugues Dussault, Christian 2012-03-08 application/pdf https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/2261 https://doi.org/10.7557/2.32.2.2261 eng eng Septentrio Academic Publishing https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/2261/2104 https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/2261 doi:10.7557/2.32.2.2261 Copyright (c) 2015 Martin-Hugues St-Laurent, Christian Dussault http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ CC-BY Rangifer; Vol 32 (2012): Special Issue No. 20; 127-138 1890-6729 boreal caribou reintroduction Charlevoix herd conservation tool decline and extirpation landscape disturbance predator-prey relationships info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2012 ftunitroemsoe https://doi.org/10.7557/2.32.2.2261 2021-08-16T15:11:17Z Boreal caribou were extirpated from the Charlevoix region (Québec) in the 1920s because of hunting and poaching. In 1965, the Québec government initiated a caribou reintroduction program in Charlevoix. During the winters of 1966 and 1967, a total of 48 boreal caribou were captured, translocated by plane, and released within enclosures; only their offspring (82 individuals) were released in the wild. Between 1967 and 1980, a wolf control program was applied to support caribou population growth. The caribou population, however, remained relatively stable at 45–55 individuals during this period. During the 1980s, the population grew slowly at a rate of approximately 5% each year to reach a peak of 126 individuals in 1992. At that time, Bergerud & Mercer (1989) reported that the Charlevoix experiment was the only successful attempt at caribou reintroduction in the presence of predators (in North America). Afterwards, the population declined and since then it has been relatively stable at about 80 individuals. Here we reviewed the literature regarding the ecology and population dynamics of the Charlevoix caribou herd since its reintroduction, in an attempt to critically assess the value of reintroduction as a conservation tool for this species. Indeed, the Charlevoix caribou herd is now considered at very high risk of extinction mostly because of its small size, its isolation from other caribou populations, and low recruitment. The Charlevoix region has been heavily impacted by forestry activities since the early 1980s. Recent studies have indicated that these habitat modifications may have benefited populations of wolves and black bears—two predators of caribou—and that caribou range fidelity may have exposed caribou to higher predation risk via maladaptive habitat selection. As females are ageing, and females and calves suffer high predation pressure from wolves and bears respectively, we suggest that the future of this reintroduced herd is in question and that they are facing a high probability of extinction in the near future if further action is not taken. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rangifer University of Tromsø: Septentrio Academic Publishing Caribou Range ENVELOPE(-125.436,-125.436,59.750,59.750) Mercer ENVELOPE(65.647,65.647,-70.227,-70.227) Rangifer 32 2 127 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Septentrio Academic Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftunitroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
boreal caribou reintroduction Charlevoix herd conservation tool decline and extirpation landscape disturbance predator-prey relationships |
spellingShingle |
boreal caribou reintroduction Charlevoix herd conservation tool decline and extirpation landscape disturbance predator-prey relationships St-Laurent, Martin-Hugues Dussault, Christian The reintroduction of boreal caribou as a conservation strategy: A long-term assessment at the southern range limit |
topic_facet |
boreal caribou reintroduction Charlevoix herd conservation tool decline and extirpation landscape disturbance predator-prey relationships |
description |
Boreal caribou were extirpated from the Charlevoix region (Québec) in the 1920s because of hunting and poaching. In 1965, the Québec government initiated a caribou reintroduction program in Charlevoix. During the winters of 1966 and 1967, a total of 48 boreal caribou were captured, translocated by plane, and released within enclosures; only their offspring (82 individuals) were released in the wild. Between 1967 and 1980, a wolf control program was applied to support caribou population growth. The caribou population, however, remained relatively stable at 45–55 individuals during this period. During the 1980s, the population grew slowly at a rate of approximately 5% each year to reach a peak of 126 individuals in 1992. At that time, Bergerud & Mercer (1989) reported that the Charlevoix experiment was the only successful attempt at caribou reintroduction in the presence of predators (in North America). Afterwards, the population declined and since then it has been relatively stable at about 80 individuals. Here we reviewed the literature regarding the ecology and population dynamics of the Charlevoix caribou herd since its reintroduction, in an attempt to critically assess the value of reintroduction as a conservation tool for this species. Indeed, the Charlevoix caribou herd is now considered at very high risk of extinction mostly because of its small size, its isolation from other caribou populations, and low recruitment. The Charlevoix region has been heavily impacted by forestry activities since the early 1980s. Recent studies have indicated that these habitat modifications may have benefited populations of wolves and black bears—two predators of caribou—and that caribou range fidelity may have exposed caribou to higher predation risk via maladaptive habitat selection. As females are ageing, and females and calves suffer high predation pressure from wolves and bears respectively, we suggest that the future of this reintroduced herd is in question and that they are facing a high probability of extinction in the near future if further action is not taken. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
St-Laurent, Martin-Hugues Dussault, Christian |
author_facet |
St-Laurent, Martin-Hugues Dussault, Christian |
author_sort |
St-Laurent, Martin-Hugues |
title |
The reintroduction of boreal caribou as a conservation strategy: A long-term assessment at the southern range limit |
title_short |
The reintroduction of boreal caribou as a conservation strategy: A long-term assessment at the southern range limit |
title_full |
The reintroduction of boreal caribou as a conservation strategy: A long-term assessment at the southern range limit |
title_fullStr |
The reintroduction of boreal caribou as a conservation strategy: A long-term assessment at the southern range limit |
title_full_unstemmed |
The reintroduction of boreal caribou as a conservation strategy: A long-term assessment at the southern range limit |
title_sort |
reintroduction of boreal caribou as a conservation strategy: a long-term assessment at the southern range limit |
publisher |
Septentrio Academic Publishing |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/2261 https://doi.org/10.7557/2.32.2.2261 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-125.436,-125.436,59.750,59.750) ENVELOPE(65.647,65.647,-70.227,-70.227) |
geographic |
Caribou Range Mercer |
geographic_facet |
Caribou Range Mercer |
genre |
Rangifer |
genre_facet |
Rangifer |
op_source |
Rangifer; Vol 32 (2012): Special Issue No. 20; 127-138 1890-6729 |
op_relation |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/2261/2104 https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/2261 doi:10.7557/2.32.2.2261 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2015 Martin-Hugues St-Laurent, Christian Dussault http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7557/2.32.2.2261 |
container_title |
Rangifer |
container_volume |
32 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
127 |
_version_ |
1766175134491607040 |