Influence of Migratory Strategy, Group Size, and Environmental Conditions on the Movements of Caribou in Eastern Alaska
Migration is a diverse behavior exhibited by a wide array of organisms. Variability in the type of movements is rooted in their purpose, environmental factors, demographics, and individual physiological condition. The ability of caribou (<i>Rangifer tarandus granti</i>) to efficiently mo...
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2025-05-01
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| description | Migration is a diverse behavior exhibited by a wide array of organisms. Variability in the type of movements is rooted in their purpose, environmental factors, demographics, and individual physiological condition. The ability of caribou (<i>Rangifer tarandus granti</i>) to efficiently move long distances and have a high degree of plasticity in their movements allows them to respond and be resilient to dynamic and dramatic differences in environmental conditions. I used 88 collared, sympatric, adult, female, barren-ground Nelchina Caribou Herd caribou in east-central Alaska to assess their migratory strategy (as indexed by the distance between winter and summer ranges) and how this might affect their movements. Employing 41,682 movement vectors from 39 of these individuals equipped with GPS collars, I compared the annual and monthly movements of caribou that were found on different winter ranges. Distances between winter and summer ranges for individual caribou were correlated with their annual movement, but not for caribou that wintered within the same area. As expected, caribou with the greatest distance between their winter and summer ranges (300 km) traveled the most annually (2132 km/year), whereas caribou with the shortest distance between ranges (71 km) traveled the least annually (1368 km/year). However, caribou that migrated the furthest exhibited greater movement rates in all non-migratory summer months and most non-migratory winter months, as well as during migration. Movement rates were the greatest in summer, peaking in July, regardless of where caribou wintered. During the winter months, movement rates were similar among caribou found on different winter ranges and decreased over the winter, reaching minimums in January-March. Caribou that migrated the shortest distance and had lower movement rates tended to be found in smaller groups in summer. The connection between group size and movement rates may be a function of competition or a small-scale example of the larger-scale phenomenon of range expansion of large herds. Environmental factors, such as snow depth and temperature, were also correlated (negatively and positively, respectively) with caribou movement rates. Survival was not significantly different for caribou utilizing different winter ranges, which implies that the benefits of this long-distance migration can be offset by its costs. A more detailed understanding of the drivers and variability of caribou movement should help improve the management of this declining species. |
| format | Article |
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| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-474cb9730ca24344a34b74137e7c7a2b2025-08-20T01:56:55ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-05-011510145310.3390/ani15101453Influence of Migratory Strategy, Group Size, and Environmental Conditions on the Movements of Caribou in Eastern AlaskaKyle Joly0Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, National Park Service, Fairbanks, AK 99709, USAMigration is a diverse behavior exhibited by a wide array of organisms. Variability in the type of movements is rooted in their purpose, environmental factors, demographics, and individual physiological condition. The ability of caribou (<i>Rangifer tarandus granti</i>) to efficiently move long distances and have a high degree of plasticity in their movements allows them to respond and be resilient to dynamic and dramatic differences in environmental conditions. I used 88 collared, sympatric, adult, female, barren-ground Nelchina Caribou Herd caribou in east-central Alaska to assess their migratory strategy (as indexed by the distance between winter and summer ranges) and how this might affect their movements. Employing 41,682 movement vectors from 39 of these individuals equipped with GPS collars, I compared the annual and monthly movements of caribou that were found on different winter ranges. Distances between winter and summer ranges for individual caribou were correlated with their annual movement, but not for caribou that wintered within the same area. As expected, caribou with the greatest distance between their winter and summer ranges (300 km) traveled the most annually (2132 km/year), whereas caribou with the shortest distance between ranges (71 km) traveled the least annually (1368 km/year). However, caribou that migrated the furthest exhibited greater movement rates in all non-migratory summer months and most non-migratory winter months, as well as during migration. Movement rates were the greatest in summer, peaking in July, regardless of where caribou wintered. During the winter months, movement rates were similar among caribou found on different winter ranges and decreased over the winter, reaching minimums in January-March. Caribou that migrated the shortest distance and had lower movement rates tended to be found in smaller groups in summer. The connection between group size and movement rates may be a function of competition or a small-scale example of the larger-scale phenomenon of range expansion of large herds. Environmental factors, such as snow depth and temperature, were also correlated (negatively and positively, respectively) with caribou movement rates. Survival was not significantly different for caribou utilizing different winter ranges, which implies that the benefits of this long-distance migration can be offset by its costs. A more detailed understanding of the drivers and variability of caribou movement should help improve the management of this declining species.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/10/1453collaring impactsdensitymigrationNelchina<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>snow |
| spellingShingle | Kyle Joly Influence of Migratory Strategy, Group Size, and Environmental Conditions on the Movements of Caribou in Eastern Alaska Animals collaring impacts density migration Nelchina <i>Rangifer tarandus</i> snow |
| title | Influence of Migratory Strategy, Group Size, and Environmental Conditions on the Movements of Caribou in Eastern Alaska |
| title_full | Influence of Migratory Strategy, Group Size, and Environmental Conditions on the Movements of Caribou in Eastern Alaska |
| title_fullStr | Influence of Migratory Strategy, Group Size, and Environmental Conditions on the Movements of Caribou in Eastern Alaska |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of Migratory Strategy, Group Size, and Environmental Conditions on the Movements of Caribou in Eastern Alaska |
| title_short | Influence of Migratory Strategy, Group Size, and Environmental Conditions on the Movements of Caribou in Eastern Alaska |
| title_sort | influence of migratory strategy group size and environmental conditions on the movements of caribou in eastern alaska |
| topic | collaring impacts density migration Nelchina <i>Rangifer tarandus</i> snow |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/10/1453 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kylejoly influenceofmigratorystrategygroupsizeandenvironmentalconditionsonthemovementsofcaribouineasternalaska |