Across Canada, woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)) populations are declining because of human-induced changes to food webs that are resulting in apparent competition-induced increases in predator-caused caribou mortality. We tested the hypothesis that wolf (Canis lupus L., 1758) population reduction could reverse declines in a woodland caribou population following a BACI (before-after-control-impact) design conducted over a 12-year period in west-central Alberta, Canada. We monitored annual survival for 172 adult female caribou and calf recruitment from 2000 through 2012 and conducted a provincial government delivered wolf population reduction program annually during the winters of 2005–2006 to 2012 (inclusive) in an area centered on the Little Smoky range. Wolf removal translated to a 4.6% increase in mean population growth rate of the Little Smoky population mostly through improvements in calf recruitment. In contrast, the Red Rock Prairie Creek control population exhibited a 4.7% decline. Although the wolf population reduction program appeared to stabilize the Little Smoky population, it did not lead to population increase, however, with λ remaining approximately equal to 1. Therefore, we recommend, if required, predation management be combined with effective habitat conservation and long-term planning to effect the recovery of species, such as woodland caribou, which are declining as a result of habitat-mediated apparent competition.
Related Resources
Linking Habitat, Populations and Policy for Caribou in The Face of Increasing Disturbance
Resource Date:
June
2021
Organization
“These Trees Have Stories to Tell”: Linking Dënesǫ́łıné Oral History of Caribou Use with Trample Scar Frequency on Black Spruce Roots at Ɂedacho Kué
Resource Date:
April
2021
Webinar - Boreal Peatlands in the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone of Canada
Resource Date:
October
2021
Organization
“We’re Made Criminals Just to Eat off the Land”: Colonial Wildlife Management and Repercussions on Inuit Well-Being
Resource Date:
October
2021
Demographic Responses of a Threatened, Low-density Ungulate to Annual Variation in Meteorological and Phenological Conditions
Resource Date:
October
2021
Digging Into Canadian Soils - An Introduction to Soil Science
Resource Date:
2021
Organization
Was this helpful?
|