PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 88: Mammal Ecology: Habitat and Movement
Wednesday, August 10, 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Room 524 A, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal

Optimum landscape spatial composition for woodland caribou: a multi-scale perspective.

Manseau, Micheline^{*,1, 2}, O'Brien, Dan^{1, 3}, Koper, Nicola², ¹ Parks Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada² Natural Resources Institute, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada³ Cortex Consultants Inc., Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

ABSTRACT- The composition of habitat within a landscape exerts a strong influence on the abundance, distribution and dynamics of vertebrate populations inhabiting those landscapes. Equally, the size, shape and spatial configuration of habitat patches may alter the opportunities for individuals of a given species and their interactions with predators. In this study, we examined the influence of the composition and configuration of habitat patches on the distribution and movement of two woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) herds in southern and central Manitoba, Canada. Four discreet scales were examined including: (1) selection of activities areas within a region historically occupied by the Owl Lake caribou herd (region), (2) selection of activity sites within the home range (range), (3) selection of habitat patches through inter-patch movements (patch) and (4) selection of habitat characteristics along trails (path). At each scale, we used resource selection functions to model habitat use relative to habitat features with potential relevance to feeding and predation avoidance. The size and shape of habitat patches had more influence on caribou distribution at coarser scales. At finer scales, the patch and path scales, utilization of sub-optimal habitat between high quality patches was primarily influenced by the proximity to high quality habitat. At all coarse and fine scales, avoidance of natural disturbances and anthropogenic features was highly significant. Although the influence of different factors varied between scales, broad patterns can be traced and used to describe and predict optimal boreal landscape composition and structure for the species.

Key words: habitat use analysis, landscape pattern, endangered species, conservation ecology