Climate-informed forecasts reveal dramatic local habitat shifts and population uncertainty for northern boreal caribou

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Frances E C Stewart - , Natural Resources Canada (Author)
  • Tatiane Micheletti - , University of British Columbia (Author)
  • Steven G Cumming - , Université Laval (Author)
  • Ceres Barros - , University of British Columbia (Author)
  • Alex M Chubaty - , FOR-CAST Research & Analytics, Calgary, AB, Canada. (Author)
  • Amanda L Dookie - , Environment and Climate Change Canada (Author)
  • Isabelle Duclos - , Environment and Climate Change Canada (Author)
  • Ian Eddy - , Natural Resources Canada (Author)
  • Samuel Haché - , Environment and Climate Change Canada (Author)
  • James Hodson - , Government of the Northwest Territories (Author)
  • Josie Hughes - , Landscape Science and Technology Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Author)
  • Cheryl A Johnson - , Landscape Science and Technology Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Author)
  • Mathieu Leblond - , Landscape Science and Technology Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Author)
  • Fiona K A Schmiegelow - , Yukon University (Author)
  • Junior A Tremblay - , Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Québec, QC, Canada. (Author)
  • Eliot J B McIntire - , University of British Columbia (Author)

Abstract

Most research on boreal populations of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) has been conducted in areas of high anthropogenic disturbance. However, a large portion of the species' range overlaps relatively pristine areas primarily affected by natural disturbances, such as wildfire. Climate-driven habitat change is a key concern for the conservation of boreal-dependent species, where management decisions have yet to consider knowledge from multiple ecological domains integrated into a cohesive and spatially explicit forecast of species-specific habitat and demography. We used a novel ecological forecasting framework to provide climate-sensitive projections of habitat and demography for five boreal caribou monitoring areas within the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, over 90 years. Importantly, we quantify uncertainty around forecasted mean values. Our results suggest habitat suitability may increase in central and southwest regions of the NWT's Taiga Plains ecozone but decrease in southern and northwestern regions driven by conversion of coniferous to deciduous forests. We do not project that boreal caribou population growth rates will change despite forecasted changes to habitat suitability. Our results emphasize the importance of efforts to protect and restore northern boreal caribou habitat despite climate uncertainty while highlighting expected spatial variations that are important considerations for local people who rely on them. An ability to reproduce previous work, and critical thought when incorporating sources of uncertainty, will be important to refine forecasts, derive management decisions, and improve conservation efficacy for northern species at risk.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2816
JournalEcological Applications
Volume33
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2023
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 36752658
Scopus 85150342579

Keywords

Keywords

  • Animals, Conservation of Natural Resources/methods, Ecosystem, Forests, Humans, Reindeer, Uncertainty