Alberta woodland caribou recovery research and monitoring program to support sustainable forest management

Abstract

The intent of the study was to test the hypothesis that wolf occurrence is higher in caribou ranges with more industrial disturbance, provide data for scenario modelling that examines how wolf–caribou predator–prey relationships are predicted to change based on future timber harvest and energy projections, and to provide baseline data for the long-term objective of conducting a province-wide adaptive management experiment that tests the response of caribou and wolf populations to different management options. The probability of wolf occurrence was measured in and around a total of five landscape planning areas that encompassed a total of 17 individual caribou ranges. Blocks were randomly selected and surveyed for the presence of wolves or wolf tracks. Aerial surveys for white-tailed deer were also conducted. Analysis suggests that wolf abundance is comparatively high in those ranges that have high levels of human disturbance. Because deer are now the primary prey of wolves in the system, declines in deer abundance could alter the dynamics between wolves and their multiple prey species. Preliminary results suggest that caribou populations might face a threat when wolves switch prey following a decline in deer numbers.