Use, selection and winter foraging patterns among woodland caribou herds in central British Columbia.

There and Back Again: One Caribou’s (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) Migratory Behaviour Hints at Genetic Exchange between Designatable Units

“…it is currently unknown whether calving behaviours are fixed in Caribou; nonetheless, unique calving behaviour is a key criterion for differentiating ecotypes (Bergerud 1996) and is among the multiple lines of evidence differentiating DUs (COsEWiC 2011), suggesting that plasticity in calving behaviour is rare. Although previous studies have documented movement of Boreal Caribou between ranges in Quebec and Labrador (Brown et al 1986), and spatial overlap of mountain and northern ecotypes of Caribou in all seasons in central British Columbia (Jones 2007), to our knowledge, ours is the first documented case of a Caribou switching between calving behaviour characteristic of Boreal Caribou (DU6) and calving behaviour associated with northern Mountain Caribou (DU7).…”

Interactions of wolves, mountain caribou and an increased moose-hunting quota --- Primary-prey management as an approach to caribou recovery.

“…In general, wolf predation on calves is much lower during winter than in summer , Ballard et al 1997. Given that caribou in the PRSA calve in late May to early June (Jones 2007), that recruitment levels for caribou were low in summer, and that winter calf survival was high (Gillingham et al 2010), wolves may be cueing in on this early summer seasonal food source when going to high elevations. A depletion in the availability of caribou calves may explain why wolves cease to go to high elevations long before the snow begins to accumulate.…”

“…Main prey for wolves are moose, caribou, and beaver (see Chapter 3). Mountain caribou occupy the mountainous terrain in the PRSA away from roads and cutblocks, selecting for mid-to-high elevations across all seasons and rarely descending below 1100 m (Jones 2007. They were at low density (0.048 caribou / km 2 ; Steenweg et al 2009, updated as per D. C. Heard, unpublished data) with a relatively stable population of-180 caribou inhabiting the study area (Wittmer et al 2005a, Hatter 2006, Gillingham et al 2010.…”

“…Caribou in the Parsnip herd selected for elevations above 1150 m in all seasons and were rarely located below 1100 m (Jones 2007). Summer wolf diet is composed of >90% moose and beaver, and little caribou or marmot (Marmota caligata), another high-elevation species (see across all wolves collared during that month, and we compared that value to snow depth.…”

“…To a large extent, caribou are spatially separated from both wolves and moose because they select for high-elevation areas (Bergerud and Page 1987, Seip 1992, Jones 2007, Stotyn 2008). This general elevational separation, although not complete, can be readily seen by plotting locations of collared caribou and wolves (Figure 1.2).…”