review of woodland caribou (rangifer tarandus caribou

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Review of Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) Conservation in Light of Climate Change Japnam Padda York University 3.0 Credit Honours Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Sharma Advisor: Dr. Lortie

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Review of Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)

Conservation in Light of Climate Change

Japnam Padda

York University

3.0 Credit Honours Thesis

Supervisor: Dr. Sharma

Advisor: Dr. Lortie

• National icon of Canada

• Meaningful to Indigenous peoples

– culture, diet, and spirituality

Cultural Significance of Caribou

Ecological Significance of Caribou

• Maintain predator populations

• Assist in nutrient cycling of Nitrogen

Main Objectives of Thesis

1. Review factors influencing woodland caribou decline in Ontario

2. Suggest potential management actions that can be taken to protect caribou populations, in light of climate change

Forest Tundra Woodland Caribou

Forest Dwelling Woodland Caribou

Adapted from Festa- Bianchet et al., 2011

Ontario Woodland Caribou Ecotypes

Threatened (COSEWIC, 2002)

Not at Risk (COSEWIC, 2002)

Half of Caribou Range Lost

• Range moving north at 34 km/ decade

Adapted from Shaefer, 2003

Range in 1990

Lost historical range

Woodland Caribou Decline

Anthropogenic

Landscape

Disturbance

Alternate

Prey

Presence

Predation

Parasites/ DiseaseHunting

Climate Change

Natural Landscape Disturbance

Vehicle Collisions

Woodland Caribou Decline

Anthropogenic

Landscape

Disturbance

Alternate

Prey

Presence

Predation

Parasites/ DiseaseHunting

Climate Change

Natural Landscape Disturbance

Impacts of Climate Change on Caribou

Climate Change

Forage Availability

Forage Accessibility

Predator-Prey

Interactions

Available Habitat

Spatial Separation

Availability of forage: ability of environment to make vegetation

Accessibility of forage: ability of caribou to obtain vegetation

Tews et al., 2007

Can Caribou Handle the Heat?

Taken from Environment Canada, 2011

Positive Outcome of Warming Trends

Warmer + Drier Summers

↑ Gr w g Season

(Tews et al., 2007)

↑ F rag Availability

(Tews et al., 2007)

• Temperature ↑ by 1.5°C • Fr qu y f a ua warm day ↑ 1950

Warren & Lemmen, 2014

Warmer + Drier Summers

↑ F r Frequency

↓ F rag Availability

(Rupp et al., 2006)

↓ Hab tat Availability

(Joly et al., 2012)

↑ M Populations

(Joly et al., 2012)

Negative Outcome of Warming Trends

Extreme Weather Events

Extreme Weather Events

↑ Fr qu y f Ice/ Snow Storms

↓ F rag Accessibility

(Miller & Gunn, 2003)

• Extreme weather events pr d t d t ↑ (i.e. snow, wind, and ice storms)

Warren & Lemmen, 2014

Caribou Conservation Plan (CCP)

OMNR, 2009

Caribou Conservation

Plan

Implement Actions

Monitor Outcomes

Evaluate Caribou Status

Make Revisions

Discussion between:

Indigenous Peoples + Public +

Stakeholders + Scientists

CCP in Need of Update

• Guidelines very broad “ . . ma ta a t y b r a f r t”

• Climate change mentioned, but specific remediation missing

• Focuses on logging and development

Management Recommendations, in Light of Climate Change

Climate- Ontario Government (carbon tax) & Conservation Ontario

1. Drastic reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Spittlehouse & Stewart, 2003)

2. Reserve/ protected areas be expanded for “climate- induced migration insurance” (Ha a et al., 2002)

Triage

3. Woodland caribou conservation must be triaged over other ungulate species (Racey et al., 1991)

Management Recommendations, in Light of Climate Change

Forestry- MNRF & Crown Land Forest Operations

4. Forest fires must be suppressed (Joly et al., 2012)

5. Tree and lichen species must be assisted in colonization (Spittlehouse & Stewart, 2003)

6. Clearcut harvest system must be tightly regulated (Racey et al., 1991)

Management Recommendations, in Light of Climate Change

Management Implications• Improvements in caribou

populations will take time to witness

• Goes against natural processes (wildfire)

• Counterproductive for species such as moose & deer

• Slowed economic growth of industries, such as logging

What about moose

?!

Acknowledgements

• I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Sharma,for her feedback, inspiration, and guidance throughout this paper

• I would also like to thank Dr. Lortie for being my advisor (appreciate your quick e-mail replies)

• And lastly everyone in the Sharma lab (Lianna, Miranda, Samantha, Thomas, Katrina, and Shakur) for making this such an exciting and educational experience

• Thank you all!

ReferencesCOSEWIC. 2002. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the woodland caribou Rangifer tarandus caribou in Canada. Committee on the Status of

Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Ottawa. 98 pp.

Environment Canada. 2011: Annual 2011 Summary, Climate Trendsand Variability Report, online, <ec.gc.ca/adsc-cmda/default.asp?lang=En&n=F3D25729-1>.

Festa-Bianchet M, Ray JC, Boutin S, Cote SD, and Gunn A. 2011. Conservation of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in Canada: an uncertain future. Can J Zool 89: 419-434.

Hannah L, Midgley GF, and Millar D. 2002. Climate change-integrated conservation strategies. Global Ecol Biogeogr 11: 485- 495.

Joly K, Duffy PA, and Rupp TS. 2012. Simulating the effects of climate change on fire regimes in Artic biomes: implications for caribou and moose habitat. Ecosphere 3(5): 36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES12-00012.1

OMNR. 2009. O tar ’ W d a d ar b u rvat P a . Qu ’ Pr t r f r O tar , T r t , O tar . 24 pp.

Racey GD, Abraham K, Darby WR, Timmermann HR, and Day Q. 1991. Can woodland caribou and the forest industry coexist: The Ontario scene. Rangifer 7: 108-115.

Rupp TS, Olson M, Adams LG, Dale BW, Joly K, Henkelman J, Collins WB, and Starfield AM. 2006. Simulating the Influences of Various Fire Regimes on Caribou Winter Habitat. Ecol Appl. 16(5): 1730- 1743.

Schaefer JA. 2003. Long-Term Range Recession and the Persistence of Caribou in the Taiga. Conserv Biol 17(5): 1435- 1439.

Spittlehouse DL and Stewart RB. 2003. Adaptation to climate change in forest management. BC Journal of Ecosystems and Management 4(1): 1-11.

Tews J, Ferguson MAD, and Fahrig L. 2007. Potential net effects of climate change on High Arctic Peary caribou: Lessons from a spatially explicit simulation model. Ecol Model 207: 85- 98.

Warren FJ and Lemmen DS. 2014. Synthesis; in Canada in a Changing Climate: Sector Perspectives on Impacts and Adaption, (ed.) FJ Warren and DS Lemmen; Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON, p. 1-18.