Distribution and Movements of the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd 1990–2005: Prior to Oil and Gas Development

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Four caribou (Rangifer tarandus grantii) herds calve on the North Slope of Alaska, three of which have been exposed to little or no resource development. We present 15 years of baseline data on the distribution and movements of 72 satellite-collared and 10 GPS-collared caribou from the Teshekpuk caribou herd (TCH) that have had little to no exposure to oil and gas activities. Fixed-kernel home range analyses of collared caribou revealed that calving grounds were concentrated (i.e., 50% kernel utilization distribution) along the northeastern, eastern, and southeastern shores of Teshekpuk Lake. During the postcalving period, 51% and 35% of caribou moved through two constricted zones to the east and west of Teshekpuk Lake, respectively, and accessed insect-relief habitat along the Beaufort Sea coast. During late summer and early fall, TCH caribou were concentrated to the southeast and southwest of Teshekpuk Lake. Although 65% of the Teshekpuk caribou wintered in two areas on the central coastal plain around the village of Atqasuk and south of Teshekpuk Lake, other TCH animals wintered in a great variety of places, including the Seward Peninsula, the eastern and southern Brooks Range, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We detected an apparent emigration rate of 6.9%. One male and five female TCH caribou joined the breeding populations of the Western Arctic and Central Arctic herds. TCH caribou traveled an average distance of 2348 ± 190 km annually. Movement rates were at a maximum in midsummer, lowest in winter, and intermediate during spring and fall migrations. Restrictions on oil and gas leasing and surface occupancy have been in place to protect calving, migratory corridors, and insect-relief habitat for the TCH, but these protections are likely to be removed. These data will provide a good baseline that can be used to compare predevelopment distribution and movement patterns of TCH caribou to distribution and movement patterns during and after petroleum development.Key words: Rangifer, satellite-collar, GPS, subsistence, emigration, Alaska, North Slope, National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska RÉSUMÉ. Quatre hardes de caribous (Rangifer tarandus grantii) vêlent sur la côte nord de l'Alaska, dont trois de ces hardes ont été exposées à peu ou pas d'aménagement des ressources. Nous présentons des données de base échelonnées sur 15 ans relativement à la répartition et aux déplacements de 72 caribous dotés d'un collier émetteur par satellite et de 10 caribous munis d'un collier émetteur GPS de la harde de caribous de Teshekpuk (HCT), caribous qui ont été peu ou pas du tout frottés aux activités pétrolières et gazières. L'analyse du noyau fixe des domaines vitaux des caribous à collier a révélé que les lieux de vêlage étaient concentrés (c'est-à-dire 50 % de la répartition de l'utilisation du noyau) le long des côtes nord-est, est et sud-est du lac Teshekpuk. Après la période de vêlage, 51 pour cent et 35 pour cent des caribous se déplaçaient au sein de deux zones de constriction à l'est et à l'ouest du lac ...

Modern Erosion Rates and Loss of Coastal Features and Sites, Beaufort Sea Coastline, Alaska

“…This area has recently received much attention since it is believed to be rich in petroleum reserves (Bird and Houseknecht, 2002), but it is also important because of its rich subsistence hunting grounds for Inupiat Eskimos, the abundance of migratory, molting waterfowl (Bollinger and Derksen, 1996), and the presence of the Teshekpuk caribou herd (Person et al, 2007). Examination of historical accounts of this stretch of coastline (Dease and Simpson [Simpson, 1843]; Maguire, 1854;Leffingwell, 1919), the Dictionary of Alaska Place Names (Orth, 1967), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps dating to 1955 reveals a number of coastal features with Western place names, cultural and historical sites, and modern sites located along the TLSA coast that could have potentially disappeared as a result of coastal erosion.…”

Demographic adversities and Indigenous resilience in Western Alaska

“…It is difficult to reconstruct the chain of circumstances that led to the animals' disappearance from the Seward Peninsula (cf. Burch 2012: 70-74), but observations of contemporary caribou populations provide some insights (Ferguson and Elkie 2004;Person et al 2007). Caribou can migrate seasonally over hundreds of kilometres, and tend to return to their spring-to-summer calving locales more consistently than to their winter territories.…”

Two mechanisms of aquatic and terrestrial habitat change along an Alaskan Arctic coastline

“…The TLSA also has protected status because it provides important calving and rearing ground for the Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd (Fig. 2b) (Person et al 2007). This area was traditionally used for subsistence hunting and Wshing by Native peoples of the region.…”

“…The Arctic is a biologically important region, providing essential habitat for a number of biological populations of current management interest, including black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) (Bollinger and Derksen 1996;Flint et al 2008), king eider (Somateria spectabilis) (Bentzen et al 2008), caribou (Rangifer tarandus grantii) (Person et al 2007), and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) (Fischbach et al 2007;Smith et al 2007). In northern Alaska, much of this habitat exists at the ocean-land interface where the hinterland is often characterized by lowland tundra, wetlands, and thermokarst lakes.…”

“…Long-term datasets suggest that these goose populations have shifted distribution during the last 30 years; whether this is in response to recent habitat change is uncertain (Flint et al 2008). The Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd also utilizes this area for foraging during winter, where snowpacks are smaller and expose more vegetation, and for foraging and calf rearing during summer, where coastal winds and low temperatures create a refuge from mosquitoes (Person et al 2007). Beaufort Sea polar bear populations are anticipated to decline in response to diminished sea ice extent (Durner et al 2009) and evidence suggests a shift from pack ice denning sites to shoreline dens among Beaufort Sea populations (Fischbach et al 2007), including known dens adjacent to the N-TLSA on nearshore islands (Smith et al 2007).…”