Habitat use by parturient and nonparturient caribou of the Mentasta caribou herd
Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1998 I compared habitat use and diet characteristics among preparturient female caribou (Rangifer tarandus), and between parturient and nonparturient caribou during and after parturition, in the Mentasta Caribou Herd, Alaska, to explain movements by part...
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ftunivalaska:oai:scholarworks.alaska.edu:11122/14654 2023-11-05T03:39:44+01:00 Habitat use by parturient and nonparturient caribou of the Mentasta caribou herd Barten, Neil L. 1998-08 http://hdl.handle.net/11122/14654 en_US eng http://hdl.handle.net/11122/14654 Department of Biology and Wildlife Caribou Parturition Habitat Thesis ms 1998 ftunivalaska 2023-10-12T18:03:18Z Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1998 I compared habitat use and diet characteristics among preparturient female caribou (Rangifer tarandus), and between parturient and nonparturient caribou during and after parturition, in the Mentasta Caribou Herd, Alaska, to explain movements by parturient females just prior to giving birth. I monitored 39 radio-collared females in 1994 and 40 animals in 1995. I estimated forage biomass, collected forage for determination of nitrogen and in-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), and collected fecal pellets to calculate indices of diet composition and diet quality at sites used by caribou. I also recorded sightings of predators throughout the study area. During peak parturition, females with young used habitat with fewer predator sightings, a lower abundance of forage species, but with nearly equal forage quality as that used by females without young. I hypothesized that parturient females used birth sites that lowered the risk of predation, and did so at little cost nutritionally. Biological Resources Division of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the National Park Service, the Alaska Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, and the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Thesis Arctic Institute of Arctic Biology Rangifer tarandus Alaska University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA |
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Open Polar |
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University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA |
op_collection_id |
ftunivalaska |
language |
English |
topic |
Caribou Parturition Habitat |
spellingShingle |
Caribou Parturition Habitat Barten, Neil L. Habitat use by parturient and nonparturient caribou of the Mentasta caribou herd |
topic_facet |
Caribou Parturition Habitat |
description |
Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1998 I compared habitat use and diet characteristics among preparturient female caribou (Rangifer tarandus), and between parturient and nonparturient caribou during and after parturition, in the Mentasta Caribou Herd, Alaska, to explain movements by parturient females just prior to giving birth. I monitored 39 radio-collared females in 1994 and 40 animals in 1995. I estimated forage biomass, collected forage for determination of nitrogen and in-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), and collected fecal pellets to calculate indices of diet composition and diet quality at sites used by caribou. I also recorded sightings of predators throughout the study area. During peak parturition, females with young used habitat with fewer predator sightings, a lower abundance of forage species, but with nearly equal forage quality as that used by females without young. I hypothesized that parturient females used birth sites that lowered the risk of predation, and did so at little cost nutritionally. Biological Resources Division of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the National Park Service, the Alaska Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, and the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Barten, Neil L. |
author_facet |
Barten, Neil L. |
author_sort |
Barten, Neil L. |
title |
Habitat use by parturient and nonparturient caribou of the Mentasta caribou herd |
title_short |
Habitat use by parturient and nonparturient caribou of the Mentasta caribou herd |
title_full |
Habitat use by parturient and nonparturient caribou of the Mentasta caribou herd |
title_fullStr |
Habitat use by parturient and nonparturient caribou of the Mentasta caribou herd |
title_full_unstemmed |
Habitat use by parturient and nonparturient caribou of the Mentasta caribou herd |
title_sort |
habitat use by parturient and nonparturient caribou of the mentasta caribou herd |
publishDate |
1998 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/14654 |
genre |
Arctic Institute of Arctic Biology Rangifer tarandus Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Institute of Arctic Biology Rangifer tarandus Alaska |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/14654 Department of Biology and Wildlife |
_version_ |
1781695633355177984 |