Since 2013, the fRI Research Caribou Program has been carrying out research towards maintaining future healthy caribou populations in Alberta. The program carries out research in partnership with the Government of Alberta & Industry.
The caribou program is a young program that has already accomplished an impressive amount of research towards maintaining healthy caribou populations into the future. One of the main focus of the caribou program has been on informing the restoration of seismic lines. Within this aspect of the program, we used LiDAR technology, field data, and a Geographic Information System (GIS) to understand attributes of seismic lines where caribou, alternate prey (deer, moose, and elk), and their predators are most likely to overlap, and also where humans are more likely to be found. Another main aspect of the caribou program is focused on mitigation, and investigating relationships between the human footprint and caribou distribution. Finally, the a third main aspect of the caribou program is focused on health and disease, and caribou mortalities. This aspect of the program is focused on collecting valuable data and monitoring populations towards a baseline health and disease database that is necessary for informed decisions that includes health information into the future.
The fri Research Caribou Program, lead by Dr. Laura Finnegan, is an active and successful collaboration among researchers, technicians, and program partners. The projects detailed here are the results of these productive and ongoing collaborations.
The caribou program is a young program that has already accomplished an impressive amount of research towards maintaining healthy caribou populations into the future. One of the main focus of the caribou program has been on informing the restoration of seismic lines. Within this aspect of the program, we used LiDAR technology, field data, and a Geographic Information System (GIS) to understand attributes of seismic lines where caribou, alternate prey (deer, moose, and elk), and their predators are most likely to overlap, and also where humans are more likely to be found. Another main aspect of the caribou program is focused on mitigation, and investigating relationships between the human footprint and caribou distribution. Finally, the a third main aspect of the caribou program is focused on health and disease, and caribou mortalities. This aspect of the program is focused on collecting valuable data and monitoring populations towards a baseline health and disease database that is necessary for informed decisions that includes health information into the future.
The fri Research Caribou Program, lead by Dr. Laura Finnegan, is an active and successful collaboration among researchers, technicians, and program partners. The projects detailed here are the results of these productive and ongoing collaborations.
FEATURED PROJECTS & PUBLICATIONS
human useTowards the restoration of caribou habitat: Understanding factors associated with human motorized use of legacy seismic lines. Environmental Management
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dISTRIBUTIONHeading for the hills? Evaluating spatial distribution of woodland caribou in response to a growing anthropogenic disturbance footprint. Ecology & Evolution
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fUNCTIONAL RESPONSEHabitat heterogeneity and functional responses explain seasonal and behaviour-based selection of seismic lines for a social predator
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CAMERA TRAPS & SIGNSPredator-prey dynamics on linear features: a broadly applicable, non-invasive approach to understand multi-species behavioural responses to anthropogenic landscape features
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