scholarly journals Status of endangered and threatened caribou on Canada's arctic islands

Rangifer ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Gunn ◽  
Frank L. Miller ◽  
John Nishi

Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) on the Canadian Arctic Islands occur as several populations which are nationally classified as either endangered or threatened. On the western High Arctic (Queen Elizabeth) Islands, Peary caribou (R. t. pearyi) declined to an estimated 1100 caribou in 1997. This is the lowest recorded abundance since the first aerial survey in 1961 when a high of ca. 24 363 caribou was estimated on those islands. Peary caribou abundance on the eastern Queen Elizabeth Islands is almost unknown. On the southern Arctic Islands, three caribou populations declined by 95-98% between 1973 and 1994 but our information is unclear about the numerical trends for the two other populations. Diagnosis of factors driving the declines is complicated by incomplete information but also because the agents driving the declines vary among the Arctic's different climatic regions. The available evidence indicates that severe winters caused Peary caribou die-offs on the western Queen Elizabeth Islands. On Banks Island, harvesting together with unfavourable snow/ice conditions in some years accelerated the decline. On northwestern Victoria Island, harvesting apparently explains the decline. The role of wolf predation is unknown on Banks and notthwest Victoria islands, although wolf sightings increased during the catibou declines. Reasons for the virtual disappearance of arctic-island caribou on Prince of Wales and Somerset islands are uncertain. Recovery actions have started with Inuit and Inuvialuit reducing their harvesting but it is too soon to evaluate the effect of those changes. Recovery of Peary caribou on the western Queen Elizabeth Islands is uncertain if the current trends toward warmer temperatures and higher snowfall persist.

Rangifer ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keri McFarlane ◽  
Frank L. Miller ◽  
Samuel J. Barry ◽  
Gregory A. Wilson

We investigated the status of caribou classified as Rangifer tarandus pearyi by DNA analyses, with an emphasis on those large-bodied caribou identified as ultra pearyi that were collected in summer 1958 on Prince of Wales Island, south-central Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Our comparative assessment reveals that the ultra pearyi from Prince of Wales Island belong to a group of pearyi and are not hybrids of pearyi x groenlandicus, as we found for the caribou occurring on nearby Banks Island and northwest Victoria Island. The ultra pearyi from Prince of Wales Island cluster with high arctic pearyi and are separated genetically from the caribou populations that we sampled on the low Canadian Arctic Islands and the Canadian mainland. Our findings reveal biodiversity below the level of subspecies or regional designations. These results support the position that to retain the biodiversity present among caribou populations on the Canadian Arctic Islands, conservation efforts should be targeted at the smaller scale level of the geographic population, rather than on a wider regional or subspecific range-wide basis.


Rangifer ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank L. Miller ◽  
Anne Gunn

The Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) was recognized as 'Threatened' by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 1979 and 'Endangered' in 1991. It is the only member of the deer family (Cervidae) found on the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI) of the Canadian High Arctic. The Peary caribou is a significant part of the region's biodiversity and a socially important and economically valuable part of Arctic Canada's natural heritage. Recent microsatellite DNA findings indicate that Peary caribou on the QEI are distinct from caribou on the other Arctic Islands beyond the QEI, including Banks Island. This fact must be kept in mind if any translocation of caribou to the QEI is proposed. The subspecies is too gross a level at which to recognize the considerable diversity that exists between Peary caribou on the QEI and divergent caribou on other Canadian Arctic Islands. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada should take this considerable diversity among these caribou at below the subspecies classification to mind when assigning conservation divisions (units) to caribou on the Canadian Arctic Islands. In summer 1961, the first and only nearly range-wide aerial survey of Peary caribou yielded a population estimate on the QEI of 25 845, including about 20% calves. There was a strong preference for range on the western QEI (WEQI), where 94% (24 363) of the estimated caribou occurred on only 24% (ca. 97 000 km2) of the collective island-landmass. By summer 1973, the overall number of Peary caribou on the QEI had decreased markedly and was estimated at about 7000 animals. The following winter and spring (1973-74), the Peary caribou population declined 49% on the WQEI. The estimated number dropping to <3000, with no calves seen by us in summer 1974. Based on estimates from several aerial surveys conducted on the WQEI from 1985 to 1987, the number of Peary caribou on the QEI as a whole was judged to be 3300-3600 or only about 13-14% of the 1961 estimate. After a partial recovery in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Peary caribou on the WQEI declined drastically between 1994 and 1997 and were estimated at an all-time known low of about 1100 animals by summer 1997. The number of Peary caribou on the QEI in summer 1997 was likely no more than 2000-2400 or only 8-9% of the 1961 estimate. The four known major die-offs of Peary caribou on the WQEI between 1973 and 1997 occurred during winter and spring periods (1 Sep-21 Jun) with significantly greater (P<0.005) total snowfall, when compared to the long-term mean obtained from 55 caribou-years (1 Jul-30 Jun), 1947/48-2001/02, of weather records from Resolute Airport on Cornwallis Island. Of ecological significance is that the die-offs occurred when the caribou were at low mean overall densities and involved similar high annual rates of loss among muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus). All of the available evidence indicates that Peary caribou (and muskoxen) on the QEI experienced die-offs from prolonged, under-nutrition (starvation) caused by relative unavailability of forage-the forage was there but it was inaccessible to the caribou due to snow and/or ice cover. We cannot control the severe weather that greatly restricts the forage supply but we should try to reduce the losses of Peary caribou from other sources-humans, predators and competitors.


Rangifer ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank L. Miller ◽  
Samuel J. Barry ◽  
Wendy A. Calvert

The estimate of 25 845 Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) on the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI) in the Canadian High Arctic in summer 1961 is the only nearly range-wide 'benchmark' for the past number of caribou. No variances or confidence intervals were calculated for this estimate and no estimates were calculated for Peary caribou on the three major islands of Ellesmere, Devon, and Axel Heiberg. We reexamined the 1961 raw data by grouping the QEI into five island-complexes ('eco-units') and calculating, for each unit, the estimated number of caribou and the standard error, and the 95% confidence interval of the estimate, using a 'bootstrap' technique with 100 000 replications. Our goal was to provide an ecological basis for evaluating subsequent changes in numbers rather than relying on single-island evaluations. Our bootstrap reanalysis produced an estimate of 28 288 ± 2205 SE with a 95% CI of 20 436—37 031 Peary caribou on the QEI in summer 1961. Substantial differences in density were apparent among the five eco-units, with about a 50-fold difference from 0.01 caribou • km-2 in the Eastern eco-unit to 0.5 caribou • km-2 in the Northwestern eco-unit. The 1961 findings, with our subsequent reexamination, are crucial to any evaluation of trends for the number of Peary caribou on the QEI and the relative importance of individual eco-units for these animals. These findings also allow a more accurate evaluation of the magnitude of the subsequent decline of Peary caribou on the QEI during the last four decades and may help predict future potential levels for caribou in each of the five eco-units.


1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. H. Røed ◽  
H. Staaland ◽  
E. Broughton ◽  
D. C. Thomas

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to analyse transferrin variation in caribou from the Canadian Arctic islands. Sixteen alleles were detected in Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi). The most common allele was TfG2, which increased in frequency from 0.167 at the Boothia Peninsula to 0.236 in the Peel population and 0.340 in the Parry population. The presence of this allele, which is the most common allele in Svalbard reindeer (R. t. platyrhynchus) and not detected in Norwegian reindeer (R. t. tarandus), suggests a common origin for the Peary caribou and the Svalbard reindeer. The large genetic distance in the transferrin locus between continental and island populations suggests the isolation of a High Arctic population in a northern refugium during the Wisconsin glaciation.


Rangifer ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Gauthier ◽  
John B. Theberge

The role of wolf predation as a proximate mortality factor influencing caribou herd growth was assessed in the Burwash herd (400 animals) in the southwest Yukon between 1980 - 1982. Ten to 14 wolves in two packs preyed primarily on caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) and moose (Alces alces) with disproportionate consumption of caribou (relative to available biomass) in the rut and winter periods. Wolf predation was responsible for 72% of total annual mortality in 1980 - 1981 and 46% in 1981 - 1982. Losses due to human harvest varied between 7 to 13%. Additional limited data on climatic factors and winter forage indicated forage-climate were not major proximate mortality factors in 1980 - 1981, but that early-calving climate may have been a factor in increased calf mortality in 1982.


Rangifer ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Dumond ◽  
Shane Sather ◽  
Rob Harmer

The seasonal migration of the Dolphin and Union caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd between Victoria Island and the mainland (Nunavut/Northwest Territories, Canada) relies on the formation of sea-ice that connects the Island to the mainland from late-October to early-June.  During an aerial survey of the Dolphin and Union caribou herd in October 2007 on southern Victoria Island, Nunavut, Canada, we documented the short-term effects of the artificial maintenance of an open water channel in the sea-ice on caribou migratory movements during staging along the coast.


2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (8) ◽  
pp. 7-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Deikina

Analysis of the current trends in the teaching of the Russian language allows to assert the value of the category of values in the educational strategy. In the context of orientation of the textbook to modern requirements the role of the text in the characteristic of language as an expression of value and personal meanings is emphasized. Providing personal and humanistic thinking and the formation of value view of students in the Russian language is more successful on a wide background of text material by stimulating a variety of ways of original work of students. Its predicted results are closely related to the awareness of the value of the Russian language. Attention is paid to the resources associated with the organization of open educational space on the basis of axiological ideas as the leading in the theory of school education and textbook.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Tariq Jassim

In a market economy, the role of International Financial Reporting Standards is increasing. In order to understand their significance in modern conditions it seems necessary to consider the peculiarities of evolution of IFRS formation. The article reflects actual issues concerning the role and significance of International Accounting and Reporting Standards in modern conditions. The author has defined the necessity of applying International Accounting and Reporting Standards by Russian companies. The article highlights the main elements and users of financial statements prepared on the basis of IFRS, and analyzes the similarities and differences that exist in the formation of financial statements, based on the requirements of IFRS and RAS. The main qualitative characteristics of financial statements are considered in detail. Based on the results of the research, the author has identified current trends in the transition to international financial reporting standards.


Author(s):  
Tushar K. Pardeshi ◽  
Sachinkumar Patil

21st century is full of stress requiring more speed and accuracy. In today’s world of competition, diet pattern, lifestyle and behavioral pattern of people has changed. Late working hours, deadlines of work and stress have become a parcel of daily life. Due to this people have won’t have time for exercise and Yoga and end up in various lifestyle disorder, like Diabetes mellitus, Dyslipidemia, Obesity, Cardiovascular diseases etc. Diabetes mellitus is one of most leading disorder in all of them. The worldwide prevalence of D.M. has raised dramatically over past two decades, from an estimated 30 million cases in 1985 to 177 million in 2000. Based on current trends, > 360 million individuals will have diabetes by the year 2030. Diabetes mellitus is mentioned in our Samhitas as disorder of lethargic and exercise less lifestyle disorder and termed it as Madhumeha. Caused by mainly Apathyaahara and Viharsevana. Chikitsa of Madhumeha focused on Pathyaaahara and Vihar (lifestyle) in management of Madhumeha. This article is deal with healthy lifestyle including Yoga mentioned in Ayurveda Samhita for management of prevention and treatment of Lifestyle disorders.


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