scholarly journals Preliminary analysis of habitat utilization by woodland caribou in northwestern Ontario using satellite telemetry

Rangifer ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.L. Hillis ◽  
F.F. Mallory ◽  
W.J. Dalton ◽  
J. Smiegielski
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Habitat Utilization ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Gis Technology ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
One Year

Locational data collected over a one year period from 10 female woodland caribou, Rangifer tarandus caribou, collared with Argos satellite collars in northwestern Ontario, Canada were superimposed on supervised Landsat images using Geographical Information System (GIS) technology. Landscape parameters, land cover classifications, and drainage were utilized to create the basemap. Using ARCVIEW software, all digital fixes from collared caribou with information of date, time, and activity status were overlain on the basemap to facilitate a preliminary analysis of habitat use in this species. Results supported the conclusions (1) that woodland caribou in northwestern Ontario select habitats containing high to moderate conifer cover and avoided disturbed areas and shrub-rich habitats, (2) that seasonal changes in habitat utilization occurs in females of this species, and (3) that satellite telemetry technology can be employed in the boreal forest ecosystem to assess habitat utilization by large ungulate species.

scholarly journals Will ecosystem management supply woodland caribou habitat in northwestern Ontario?

Rangifer ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
David L. Euler
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Managed Forest ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
And Function ◽  
Forested Ecosystems

Ecosystem management is emerging as an important concept in managing forests. Although the basic conceptual idea is not new, important defining principles are developing that elucidate some of the specific attributes of ecosystem management. These principles include: the maintenance of all ecosystems in the managed forest, rhe emulation of natural disturbance patterns on rhe landscape and the insurance that structure and function of forested ecosystems are conserved. Forest management has an impact on woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), although the presence of wolves (Canis lupus) and moose (Alces alces) in the same northern ecosystems also affects the caribou-forestry interacrion. Specific management for caribou as a featured species has been proposed, based on managing large landscape blocks. Ecosystem management would also produce habitat in a manner that might accomplish the goal of conserving woodland caribou as well as maintaining other important ecosystem functions.

scholarly journals Developing a woodland caribou habitat mosaic on the Ogoki-Nakina North Forests of northwestern Ontario

Rangifer ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
I. Armstrong ◽  
G. Swant ◽  
H.R. Timmermann
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Forest Management Planning ◽  
Habitat Mosaic ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Thunder Bay

The Ogoki-North Nakina Forests consist of (10 638 km2) unroaded boreal forest approximately 400 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario (lat 50°- 51°31'N, long 86°30'- 89°W). Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) inhabit discrete portions within these forests based on minimal current and past historical data. As part of the Forest Management Planning process, for the period 1997-2097, a woodland caribou habitat mosaic has been developed to coordinate present and future forest management activities with the retention and development of current and future woodland caribou habitat. Several criteria including, past fire history, forest structure, age, species composition, proximity to current road access and location of existing and potential caribou habitat, helped identify and delineate 50 mosaic harvest blocks. Each harvest block will be logged in one of five 20 year periods over a 100 year rotation (1997¬2097). The harvest blocks have been developed to simulate a pattern of past wildfire history in an area that has not been subjected to past forest management activities, while managing for woodland caribou, a locally featured species.

scholarly journals Towards a Caribou Habitat Management Strategy for Northwestern Ontario: Running the Gauntlet

Rangifer ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald D. Racey ◽  
Edward R. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategy ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Wood Supply ◽  
The Public ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
The Government

A management strategy for woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) habitat is being developed in northwestern Ontario. This strategy is based upon a set of draft Timber Management Guidelines for the Provision of Woodland Caribou Habitat. These guidelines recommend maintaining a sustainable supply of winter habitat within large tracts of old forest, protecting calving areas and minimizing human disturbance. Due to the large temporal and spatial scale of caribou habitat management, an ecosystem-based approach is recommended. Public response to the strategy shows a strong dichotomy between environmental and utilitarian values among all the major stakeholder groups. The major issues raised by the public include security of industrial wood supply, quality of the knowledge base, level of awareness of caribou, economic impacts on remote communities, concern about environmental impacts and silvicultural know-how. The government is responding to these concerns as the strategy evolves. Current emphasis is placed on increasing awareness of the public, training resource managers in caribou biology, management and habitat planning, implementing interim habitat management prescriptions and studying the potential impact on wood supply. The final direction for a northwestern Ontario strategy to conserve woodland caribou habitat has yet to be decided, although a commitment has been made to strive for the conservation of woodland caribou populations and their habitat.

scholarly journals Range size and seasonal movement for female woodland caribou in the boreal forest of northeastern Ontario

Rangifer ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen S. Brown ◽  
Frank F. Mallory ◽  
James Rettie
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Seasonal Movement ◽  
Forest Regions ◽  
Time Of Year

A preliminary examination was conducted of range size and distribution of female woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern Ontario. Annual and seasonal ranges were calculated using satellite telemetry data collected for 30 female caribou between 1998 and 2001. The mean annual home range size of collared females was 4026 km2. Seasonal ranges varied in size depending on time of year (P<0.05). Calving and summer ranges were significantly smaller than autumn and late winter ranges. Early winter ranges were significantly larger than calving ranges and smaller than late winter ranges. Overall, range sizes of female woodland caribou in northeastern Ontario were larger than those reported for caribou in other Boreal Forest regions across Canada.

scholarly journals Woodland caribou range occupancy in northwestern Ontario: past and present

Rangifer ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.D. Racey ◽  
T. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Development Activity ◽  
Current Conservation ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Forest Use ◽  
Historical Range

A zone of continuous woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) distribution is defined for northwestern Ontario. This zone establishes a benchmark for measuring the success of future management of habitat and conservation of populations. Inventory of key winter, summer and calving habitats reaffirms the concept of a dynamic mosaic of habitat tracts that supports caribou across the landscape. The historical range recession leading to this current distribution has been associated with resource development, fire and hunting activities over the past 150 years, and numerous attempts at conservation over the last 70 years. The decline was apparently phased according to several periods of development activity: i) early exploitation in the early to mid-1800s; ii) isolation and extirpation of southern populations due to rapid changes in forest use and access between 1890 and 1930; and iii) further loss of the southernmost herds due to forest harvesting of previously inaccessible areas since the 1950s. Lessons learned from history support current conservation measures to manage caribou across broad landscapes, protect southern herds, maintain caribou habitat as part of continuous range, maintain large contiguous tracts of older forest and ensure connectivity between habitat components.

scholarly journals Wetland habitat selection by woodland caribou as characterized using the Alberta Wetland Inventory

Rangifer ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 153-157
Author(s):  
W. Kent Brown ◽  
W. James Rettie ◽  
Bob Wynes ◽  
Kim Morton
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Forested Wetlands ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Wetland Classification ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Moving Window Analysis

We examined habitat selection by woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northwestern Alberta based on a wetland classification system developed for the Alberta Vegetation Inventory. Our two objectives were to describe caribou habitat use, and to assess the utility of the wetland classification system in land-use planning on caribou range. We used a geographical information system to overlay the locations of radio-collared caribou on the habitat map. Using a "moving-window" analysis of habitat availability, we examined patterns of habitat selection by 16 individual female caribou during five seasons annually over two years. We did not detect significant differences in habitat selection patterns among seasons. Caribou showed significant preferences for both bogs and fens with low to moderate tree cover relative to marshes, uplands, heavily forested wetlands, water, and areas of human use. The wetland classification system appears to have value for broad-scale planning of industrial activity on caribou range. More-detailed descriptions of vegetation, especially understory species, are required to refine this system for operational-level forest harvest planning.

A protostrongylid nematode (Strongylida: Protostrongylidae) in woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)

1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 680-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. W. Lankester ◽  
V. J. Crichton ◽  
H. R. Timmermann
Keyword(s):  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Neurologic Disease ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus Caribou ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus Tarandus

First-stage protostrongylid larvae found in faeces of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northwestern Ontario and Manitoba may be larvae of Elaphostrongylus sp., a well-known agent of neurologic disease in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) of Eurasia.

scholarly journals Analysis of forest stands used by wintering woodland caribou in Ontario

Rangifer ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 157 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Antoniak ◽  
H.G. Cumming
Keyword(s):  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Wintering Areas

Two summers' field surveys at 9 locations in northwestern Ontario showed that woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) wintering areas supported jack pine and black spruce stands with low tree densities (mean 1552 trees/ ha, 39% of a fully stocked stand), low basal areas (mean 14.14 m2/ha), low volumes (mean 116 mVha, 68% of Normal Yield Tables) and short heights (95% of stands 12 m or less). Ecologically, most sights were classed V30. Significantly more lichen (averaging 39% lichen ground cover) was found on plots used by caribou. Three measured areas showed few shrubs, possibly enhancing escape possibilities and reducing browse attractive to moose. An HIS model predicted known locations of caribou winter habitat from FRI data with 76% accuracy. Landsat imagery theme 3 (open conifer) produced 74% accuracy. Combining these methods permitted prediction of all 50 test sites. The low volumes of timber found in caribou wintering areas suggest that setting aside reserves for caribou winter habitat would not sacrifice as much wood product value as might at first appear.

Range use and movement rates of woodland caribou in Saskatchewan

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (11) ◽  
pp. 1933-1940 ◽  
Author(s):  
W James Rettie ◽  
François Messier
Keyword(s):  
Predator Avoidance ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Telemetry Data ◽  
Movement Rates ◽  
Range Use ◽  
Seasonal Movement ◽  
Calf Mortality

We employed satellite-telemetry data to examine seasonal movement rates, annual- and seasonal-range sizes, and season-to-season range fidelity of female woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) from five populations in the boreal forest of Saskatchewan. The populations studied are limited by predation, and we investigated whether female caribou exhibited movement and range use consistent with predator avoidance. Additionally, we document an animal-centred technique for assessing site fidelity on the basis of individual range use throughout a year. Females accompanied by calves had lower movement rates and smaller seasonal ranges than females without calves. Movement rates among female caribou tended to decline between the rut and the postcalving and summer seasons. Trends indicated that seasonal ranges were larger prior to calving than during the postcalving and summer seasons. We interpreted the range sizes and movement rates observed as being consistent with predator avoidance in nonmigratory caribou populations. Despite these results and high rates of calf mortality in the area, we did not find interannual fidelity to calving sites.

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