• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • Older Theses Not Clearly Affiliated with a Current College
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • Older Theses Not Clearly Affiliated with a Current College
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Scholarworks@UACommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypeThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsType

    My Account

    Login

    First Time Submitters, Register Here

    Register

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    Influence of weather on movements and migrations of caribou

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Eastland_W_1991.pdf
    Size:
    1.728Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Author
    Eastland, Warren George
    Keyword
    Forestry
    Animal sciences
    Range management
    Zoology
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11122/9370
    Abstract
    Caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) are typified by use of calving grounds and by making twice-annual migrations between summer and winter ranges. This study used satellite technology to examine the influence of weather on calving site selection, autumn and spring movements, and timing and directionality of migrations of the Porcupine Caribou Herd (PCH) that calves in northeast Alaska and northwestern Canada adjacent to the Beaufort Sea. The reigning hypothesis that females select areas that become free of snow early for calving sites was rejected because females selected areas of $>$75% snowcover ($P=0.02$) preferentially for calving. Benefits from use of mottled snow for calving were access to vegetation in its early phenological stages and protection for their calves from predators. Access to nutritious forage and predator avoidance appeared to be the main reasons for calving site selection. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine rate and direction of autumn and spring migrations using weather data from U.S. and Canadian sources. Weather was found to be both an ultimate and an approximate influence on the rate and direction of autumn migration ($P<0.05$). Explanatory power of the equations was low ($R\sb{a}\sp2<0.41$). Proximal causes of movement were best explained by caribou tracking of vegetation phenology. Pre-rut movements in September lacked concurrence between rate and direction whereas rate and direction were related in October. Models of spring migration of parturient females indicated a common timing among years, late April and early May, and movements were significantly affected by weather ($P<0.02$), in particular snow depths and conditions that would affect foraging and traveling conditions. This study suggests that: (1) females preferentially use areas of delayed snow melt for calving, and (2) weather influences both spring and autumn migration of caribou, although the effect of weather may be more indirect than direct.
    Description
    Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1991
    Date
    1991
    Type
    Dissertation
    Collections
    Theses supervised by AKCFWRU
    Older Theses Not Clearly Affiliated with a Current College
    Theses (Unassigned)

    entitlement

     
    ABOUT US|HELP|BROWSE|ADVANCED SEARCH

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution and is a part of the University of Alaska system.

    ©UAF 2013 - 2023 | Questions? ua-scholarworks@alaska.edu | Last modified: September 25, 2019

    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.