Western Boreal Forest Research Articles

A modest increase in fire weather overcomes resistance to fire spread in recently burned boreal forests.

Recently burned boreal forests have lower aboveground fuel loads, generating a negative feedback to subsequent wildfires. Despite this feedback, short-interval reburns (≤20 years between fires) are possible under extreme weather conditions. Reburns have consequences for ecosystem recovery, leading to enduring vegetation change. In this study, we characterize the strength of the fire-fuel feedback in recently burned Canadian boreal forests and the weather conditions that overwhelm resistance to fire spread in recently burned areas. We used a dataset of daily fire spread for thousands of large boreal fires, interpolated from remotely sensed thermal anomalies to which we associated local weather from ERA5-Land for each day of a fire's duration. We classified days with >3 ha of fire growth as spread days and defined burned pixels overlapping a fire perimeter ≤20 years old as short-interval reburns. Results of a logistic regression showed that the odds of fire spread in recently burned areas were ~50% lower than in long-interval fires; however, all Canadian boreal ecozones experienced short-interval reburning (1981-2021), with over 100,000 ha reburning annually. As fire weather conditions intensify, the resistance to fire spread declines, allowing fire to spread in recently burned areas. The weather associated with short-interval fire spread days was more extreme than the conditions during long-interval spread, but overall differences were modest (e.g. relative humidity 2.6% lower). The frequency of fire weather conducive to short-interval fire spread has significantly increased in the western boreal forest due to climate warming and drying (1981-2021). Our results suggest an ongoing degradation of fire-fuel feedbacks, which is likely to continue with climatic warming and drying.

Radiation, Air Temperature, and Soil Water Availability Drive Tree Water Deficit Across Temporal Scales in Canada's Western Boreal Forest

AbstractChanges are projected for the boreal biome with complex and variable effects on forest vegetation including drought‐induced tree mortality and forest loss. With soil and atmospheric conditions governing drought intensity, specific drivers of trees water stress can be difficult to disentangle across temporal scales. We used wavelet analysis and causality detection to identify potential environmental controls (evapotranspiration, soil moisture, rainfall, vapor pressure deficit, air temperature and photosynthetically active radiation) on daily tree water deficit and on longer periods of tree dehydration in black spruce and tamarack. Daily tree water deficit was controlled by photosynthetically active radiation, vapor pressure deficit, and air temperature, causing greater stand evapotranspiration. Prolonged periods of tree water deficit (multi‐day) were regulated by photosynthetically active radiation and soil moisture. We provide empirical evidence that continued warming and drying will cause short‐term increases in black spruce and tamarack transpiration, but greater drought stress with reduced soil water availability.

Effects of oil and gas development on duck nest survival in the Western Boreal Forest

Effects of oil and gas development on duck nest survival in the Western Boreal Forest

Understanding spring wildfires in Canada's northern forests.

The window between snow melt and leaf flush in broadleaf trees defines a critical period of wildfire susceptibility, especially in western boreal forests. Questions remain about how a warming climate might affect those two processes that bookend the spring fire season.

Post-fire and harvest legacy on soil carbon and microbial communities in boreal forest soils

The boreal forest is currently facing multiple disturbances, which are increasing in extent, frequency and severity. Of particular concern in the western boreal forest of Canada are wildfires and harvesting, which, in the short-term, may impact the forest floor, a storehouse of organic matter and site of highest soil microbial activity. However, how these disturbances may individually and cumulatively affect soil properties during ecosystem recovery is not well documented. Here we compared the separate and compound (salvage-logging) effects of wildfire and harvesting in the mixedwood boreal forest of northern Alberta. Ten years following disturbance, carbon chemical composition of the harvested forest floors was comparable to the control plots as was indicated by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. We report a legacy effect of fire in recovering forest floors, with the continued presence of black carbon. Further, as determined by phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA), both wildfire and salvage-logging disturbance resulted in distinct microbial composition from the control and harvest treatments. A shift in organic matter composition indicative of fresh plant inputs was determined to be a key driver of community differences. Despite the presence of black carbon, and shallower depth, the fire-disturbed forest floor harbored the greatest microbial biomass. However, this greater microbial biomass was not present following salvage-logging of the fire disturbed stands. Instead, the salvage-logged stands had the shallowest forest floor, low microbial biomass, and differed the most from the control forest floors based on PLFA results. Taken together, these results indicate that, ten years after disturbance, the compound disturbance of salvage-logging had a greater impact on the recovery of forest floor microbial communities than harvest or wildfire alone.

An 11,000 year record of plant community stability and paludification in a patterned rich fen in northeastern Alberta, Canada

Patterned rich fens have a diverse flora and are maintained by unidirectional inflowing water with high concentrations of base cations, along with high pH and limited nutrients. Rich fens are among the most threatened ecosystems in Europe, but are not uncommon across the western boreal forest zone of Canada. Utilizing 10 radiocarbon dated cores extracted from the wetland, we investigated the Holocene developmental history of a large patterned rich fen in northeastern Alberta (McClelland Wetland). Organic matter accumulation began around 11,457 cal yr BP as primary peat formation on recently deglaciated substrates. Over the 10,000+ years history of McClelland Wetland, the central portions of the wetland have been remarkably resistant to change, with little alteration in dominant species. The resistance to change is set against a background of fluctuations in regional Holocene climate and local varying water balance. The dominant bryophyte species ( Hamatocaulis vernicosus and Scorpidium scorpioides) continued to play a foundational role on site for the duration of the Holocene, dependent on a persistent long-term ground water source. Accumulation rates of organic matter have remained steady once the dominant bryophyte layer was established, but with accumulation rates at paludifying marginal sites lower than those of the central moss-graminoid-dominated areas.

Multi‐level habitat selection of boreal breeding mallards

AbstractCanada's western boreal forest is a vital breeding habitat for North American duck populations. This region has experienced considerable demand for its valuable natural resources (e.g., oil and gas, forestry) resulting in extensive industrial development (e.g., infrastructure), which is predicted to continue. The potential effects of industrial development on breeding ducks in the western boreal forest, however, remains largely unexplored. We used backpack harness global positioning system (GPS) transmitters to document habitat selection by breeding female mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) across a gradient of industrial development in the western boreal forest of Alberta, Canada. We modeled breeding home range (second order) selection and habitat selection within the home range (third order) using resource selection functions, and spatially predicted our models across the landscape to highlight important breeding habitat. Contrary to our predictions, breeding female mallards did not avoid all industrial development at the second and third orders. Females established home ranges (second order) with greater proportions of marsh, graminoid fen, and well pads, and lower proportions of forest. Within their home range (third order), females selected shrub swamp, graminoid fen, marsh, well pads, and borrow pits, and avoided open water, swamp, treed peatland, forest, forest harvest areas, and industrials (e.g., buildings). Females also selected habitat that was close to pipelines and roads. Our results suggest that the magnitude and direction of breeding season habitat selection by female mallards varies depending on the scale and landscape features, but current levels of industrial development within our study area still allowed for the establishment of breeding season home ranges. Our spatially predicted maps contribute to the increasing body of work surrounding boreal waterfowl ecology by highlighting important breeding habitat for mallards in Canada's western boreal forest.

Naïve Pine Terpene Response to the Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) through the Seasons.

Insect herbivores must contend with constitutive and induced plant defenses. The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) has expanded its range east of the Rocky Mountains into the western boreal forest and is encountering evolutionarily naïve lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta) and jack pines (Pinus banksiana). Pinus contorta and P. banksiana in the expanded range have different constitutive and induced defenses in response to wounding and inoculation with fungal associates of D. ponderosae. In the historic range, previous studies have examined phloem terpene content prior to and just after D. ponderosae mass attack, but the terpene profile of attacked trees post-overwintering is unknown. We examined the response of mature P. contorta and P. banksiana trees to experimentally-applied mass attack by D. ponderosae and quantified phloem terpenes at three time points, pre-attack, post-attack (same season), and the following spring, post-overwintering. Phloem content of total terpenes as well as many individual terpenes increased after D. ponderosae attack but were only significantly higher than pre-attack levels at the post-overwintering time point in both P. contorta and P. banksiana. The absence of a significant increase in phloem terpenes in the month following attack in naïve pines is a potential cause for increased D. ponderosae offspring production reported in naïve P. contorta. Beetle attack density did not influence the phloem terpene profiles of either species and there was no significant interaction between attack density and sampling time on terpene content. High phloem terpenes in trees that are attacked at low densities could prime these trees for defense against attacks in the following season but it could also make these trees more apparent to early-foraging beetles and facilitate efficient mass attack at low D. ponderosae population densities in the expanded range.

Comparing alternative methods of modelling cumulative effects of oil and gas footprint on boreal bird abundance

ContextOil and gas activity is increasing in the western boreal forest of North America. To manage cumulative effects of this industry, a better quantification of footprint effects on wildlife is needed.ObjectivesWe used point-count surveys to evaluate how well footprint amounts within 150 m, and proximity to seismic lines, pipelines, well sites, roads, and energy facilities predicted the abundance of 48 bird species.MethodsWe developed models for each species, evaluating the best functional forms for different footprint effects, then predicted how different model structures influenced estimates of regional population size.ResultsMost species exhibited at least one nonlinear response to footprint amount (79% of species) or distance (88%). Species associated with older coniferous forests decreased more often with increased footprint amount and closer proximity to footprint, while species associated with open lands and young forests increased with greater footprint and closer proximity. In one-third of species, bird abundance versus distance changed from a positive to negative relationship (or reverse) at a threshold distance from at least one footprint. Models based on footprint proximity had better fit than those based on footprint amount for 29 of 48 species, but both model types produced similar population estimates.ConclusionsBoth footprint amount and proximity models were useful for assessing cumulative effects on wildlife and mechanisms causing change. Models of distance to footprint can provide evidence of positive or negative edge effects for developing management buffers. Models of footprint amount provide important information on functional changes in habitat.

Climatic limiting factors of North American ecosystems: a remote-sensing based vulnerability analysis

Remote-sensing based vulnerability assessments to climate change are a research priority of critical importance for landscape-scale efforts to prioritize conservation and management of ecosystems. Limiting climatic factors can serve as a proxy for quantifying ecosystem vulnerability, since theory predicts that ecosystems close to critical climate thresholds will be more sensitive to interannual variation in limiting climate factors. Here, we analyze time series of enhanced vegetation index data for continental-scale vulnerability assessments. The analytical approach is a lagged monthly correlation analysis that accounts for memory effects from the previous growing season. Mapping multivariate correlation coefficients reveals that drought vulnerabilities can be found across the continent, including a distinct geographic band across the western boreal forest. The analytical approach reveals climate dependencies at high spatial and temporal resolution, with the direction and strength of correlation coefficients indicating the risk of threshold transgressions at the edge of species and ecosystem tolerance limits. The approach is further useful for hypothesis testing of contributing non-climatic factors to climatic vulnerability, allowing locally targeted management interventions to address climate change.

Multiscale nest-site selection of ducks in the western boreal forest of Alberta.

There is limited data regarding the nesting ecology of boreal ducks and their response to industrial development, despite this region being an important North American breeding area. We investigated how landcover and oil and gas development affect third‐order nest‐site selection of boreal ducks. We located duck nests in Alberta's western boreal forest between 2016 and 2018. We used multiscale analysis to identify how scale affects the selection of a resource using generalized linear mixed‐effects models and determined what scale‐optimized combination of landscape features were most important in describing where ducks nest. We located 136 nests of six species of upland nesting ducks between 2016 and 2018. The magnitude, direction, and best spatial scale varied by resource. For landcover, ducks selected nest‐sites associated with mineral wetlands (300 m) and open water (300 m). Ducks avoided greater densities of seismic lines (300 m) and pipelines (2500 m) but selected nest‐sites associated with borrow pits (300 m) and roads (1000 m). We used our models to predict important duck nesting habitat in the boreal forest, which can support conservation and management decisions. We recommend conservation actions target the conservation of mineral wetlands and associated habitats within this working landscape. Further research is necessary to understand the adaptive consequences of nest‐site selection and how industrial development influences important nest predators.

Behavioral "bycatch" from camera trap surveys yields insights on prey responses to human-mediated predation risk.

Human disturbance directly affects animal populations and communities, but indirect effects of disturbance on species behaviors are less well understood. For instance, disturbance may alter predator activity and cause knock‐on effects to predator‐sensitive foraging in prey. Camera traps provide an emerging opportunity to investigate such disturbance‐mediated impacts to animal behaviors across multiple scales. We used camera trap data to test predictions about predator‐sensitive behavior in three ungulate species (caribou Rangifer tarandus; white‐tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus; moose, Alces alces) across two western boreal forest landscapes varying in disturbance. We quantified behavior as the number of camera trap photos per detection event and tested its relationship to inferred human‐mediated predation risk between a landscape with greater industrial disturbance and predator activity and a “control” landscape with lower human and predator activity. We also assessed the finer‐scale influence on behavior of variation in predation risk (relative to habitat variation) across camera sites within the more disturbed landscape. We predicted that animals in areas with greater predation risk (e.g., more wolf activity, less cover) would travel faster past cameras and generate fewer photos per detection event, while animals in areas with less predation risk would linger (rest, forage, investigate), generating more photos per event. Our predictions were supported at the landscape‐level, as caribou and moose had more photos per event in the control landscape where disturbance‐mediated predation risk was lower. At a finer‐scale within the disturbed landscape, no prey species showed a significant behavioral response to wolf activity, but the number of photos per event decreased for white‐tailed deer with increasing line of sight (m) along seismic lines (i.e., decreasing visual cover), consistent with a predator‐sensitive response. The presence of juveniles was associated with shorter behavioral events for caribou and moose, suggesting greater predator sensitivity for females with calves. Only moose demonstrated a positive behavioral association (i.e., longer events) with vegetation productivity (16‐day NDVI), suggesting that for other species bottom‐up influences of forage availability were generally weaker than top‐down influences from predation risk. Behavioral insights can be gleaned from camera trap surveys and provide complementary information about animal responses to predation risk, and thus about the indirect impacts of human disturbances on predator–prey interactions.

Considering regeneration failure in the context of changing climate and disturbance regimes in western North America

Wildfire-mediated changes to forests have prompted numerous studies on post-fire forest recovery of coniferous forests. Given climate change, a growing body of work demonstrates that conifer regeneration in temperate and boreal forests is declining, a phenomenon often termed “regeneration failure.” However, the definition and parameters are numerous and variable. Characterization of drought also varies greatly, thus hindering the ability to compare results among areas. This review discusses new perspectives on conifer regeneration failure and places these studies into the context of drought and fire activity. We focus this review on three forest types where conifer regeneration failure is well documented: western boreal forests, cold mixed-conifer forests, and dry pine forests. To place the challenges to conifer tree regeneration in the context of regional climate trends, we present a novel regional analysis that summarizes drought conditions prior, during, and following the year of a large wildfire. We demonstrate the need to assess failure in the context of specific forest dynamics and well-defined metrics. For example, tree establishment may historically occur over longer periods, and current and future climate may exacerbate this and not promote pre-fire forest structure and composition. Many forests are undergoing rapid change and the type, magnitude, and causes of changes need to be compared among areas. As such, we should be cautious of quantifying “regeneration failure” and drought without providing spatial and temporal context.

The direct and habitat-mediated influence of climate on the biogeography of boreal caribou in Canada

Effective species conservation efforts require insight into whether a species’ extent of occurrence may shift due to changing climate, habitat loss, or both. The extent of occurrence of the threatened boreal population of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou; caribou) has contracted due to environmental and anthropogenic disruption, with further contractions predicted as boreal habitat shifts with the changing climate. However, the direct and indirect climate drivers of caribou extent of occurrence have not been explicitly investigated. We estimated and compared the influence of climate and habitat drivers on the occurrence of caribou ranges across the Canadian boreal forest. We fit path models that estimated the direct effects of climate on caribou range occurrence and its indirect effect through climate's influence on caribou habitat (i.e., forest cover, presence of peatland, human disturbance and wildfire). Our analysis suggests that the distribution of caribou ranges is less sensitive to the direct effects of climate than to those of habitat and human disturbance. However, through its relationship to caribou habitat, climate exerts indirect influence over the distribution of caribou. As the climate changes, future distributions of caribou may be more heavily relegated to refuge habitats, particularly peatlands in the western boreal forest. Our biogeographical approach enables more informed decisions for large-scale caribou conservation efforts (e.g. establishment of protected areas, habitat restoration) that account for potential shifts in the distribution of caribou under changing environmental and climatic conditions.

Spatially Explicit Abundance Modeling of a Highly Specialized Wetland Bird Using Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Modélisation spatialement explicite de l’abondance d’un oiseau très spécifique aux zones humides à l’aide de Sentinel-1 et de Sentinel-2

Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) are a highly specialized wetland obligate bird. They are a species at risk in Canada and very little is known about their abundance in the wetlands of the western boreal forest. Emerging technologies have enabled us to effectively survey for Yellow Rail and other wetland birds in remote areas by using ground-based remote sensors (autonomous recording units; ARUs) to conduct passive acoustic monitoring. We analyzed bird data from the first four years (2013–2016) of an ongoing monitoring program led by the Bioacoustic Unit at the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. We developed species abundance models using satellite data from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 processed in Google Earth Engine. We identified covariates from both synthetic aperture radar and optical remote sensing that had strong predictive capacity for this wetland bird (AUC = 0.96). Approximately 1.5% of available wetland habitat in our northeast Alberta study area was predicted to be highly suitable for Yellow Rail.

Canada Warbler response to vegetation structure on regenerating seismic lines

Seismic lines have an extensive footprint in Canada's western boreal forest that alter habitat conditions for many species. Seismic lines exist within a range of seral states due to changing practices and regulations related to operational needs. Forest regeneration is often hindered on seismic lines as they are frequently repurposed for recreational or alternative industrial uses. The Canada Warbler (<em>Cardellina canadensis</em>) is a Neotropical migrant songbird that relies on Canada's boreal region for breeding habitat. As a species at risk both federally (Threatened) and provincially within Alberta (Sensitive), their response to seismic lines has been a significant gap in our understanding of human impacts on the boreal breeding grounds. We used playback surveys along seismic lines within Canada Warbler habitat to identify individual territories. Arrays of autonomous recording units (ARU) were deployed to conduct acoustic source localization (ASL) and map the locations of territorial singing events. Canada Warblers avoided seismic lines with little to no woody vegetation but were more likely to be observed near seismic lines when shrub cover on the line increased. Canada Warblers used the seismic line and the edge environment but did not select for the line when compared to its availability. Use was more evenly distributed across the seismic line as shrub density on the line increased. However, even the most overgrown seismic lines were still perceived as a feature and influenced Canada Warbler space use and behavior. For Canada Warblers, ensuring that seismic lines in old-growth deciduous forests are allowed to recover by reducing reuse of lines should mitigate population level impacts, but more work is needed to assess how population dynamics are influenced by seismic lines and other energy sector disturbances.

Integrated modeling of waterfowl distribution in western Canada using aerial survey and citizen science (eBird) data

AbstractAlthough the exceptional spatiotemporal extent of the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (WBPHS) has substantially contributed to our understanding of the ecology of North American waterfowl, vast geographical areas remain excluded from the survey. The unprecedented number of observations generated by the recent boom in citizen science initiatives could help resolve these spatial gaps and increase the density of records in regions already covered. The study objective was to assess the value of the integrated species distribution modeling (ISDM) approach for integrating WBPHS and eBird data to model waterfowl distribution across the Canadian western boreal forest, where WBPHS data are sparse. Following the ISDM approach, we used a state‐space point process formulation that combined a model for the “true” species distribution and two observation models for how WBPHS and eBird data were generated. Our results highlighted the importance of observational processes related to sampling effort and site accessibility for modeling eBird data. In addition, our models allowed identifying waterfowl–habitat associations related to geoclimatic, forest, and hydrological factors that explained the distribution of target species. To assess the individual contribution of WBPHS and eBird data, we re‐fitted the models using only one of the two data sets and compared the results obtained against those from the integrated approach. Waterfowl–habitat associations and predictions derived from the models using both data sets and those fitted with WBPHS data only were close and consistent with the observed species distribution. However, it was more difficult to extract an ecological signal from models fitted with eBird data only. Interestingly, predictions from models combining both data sets were closer to the WBPHS records than the predictions from models fitted with WBPHS data only. By facilitating the combination of all available data sources, we demonstrated the potential of the ISDM approach for modeling and mapping species distributions. We encourage future North American waterfowl modeling attempts to use this method, especially for resolving gaps in the WBPHS coverage. As multiple data sets can be added to the original framework, integration efforts must not be restricted to the additional contribution of eBird data alone and could consider, for example, provincial atlases and regional helicopter surveys.

Forecasting the Cumulative Effects of Multiple Stressors on Breeding Habitat for a Steeply Declining Aerial Insectivorous Songbird, the Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi)

To halt ongoing loss in biodiversity, there is a need for landscape-level management recommendations that address cumulative impacts of anthropogenic and natural disturbances on wildlife habitat. We examined the cumulative effects of logging, roads, land-use change, fire, and bark beetle outbreaks on future habitat for olive-sided flycatcher (Contopus cooperi), a steeply declining aerial insectivorous songbird, in Canada’s western boreal forest. To predict the occurrence of olive-sided flycatcher we developed a suite of habitat suitability models using point count surveys (1997–2011) spatially- and temporally-matched with forest inventory data. Flycatcher occurrence was positively associated with small (∼10 ha) 10- to 20-year-old clearcuts, and with 10–100% tree mortality due to mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks, but we found no association with roads or distance to water. We used the parameter estimates from the best-fit habitat suitability models to inform spatially explicit state-and-transition simulation models to project change in habitat availability from 2020 to 2050 under six alternative scenarios (three management × two fire alternatives). The simulation models projected that the cumulative effects of land use conversion, forest harvesting, and fire will reduce the area of olive-sided flycatcher habitat by 16–18% under Business As Usual management scenarios and by 11–13% under scenarios that include protection of 30% of the land base. Scenarios limiting the size of all clearcuts to ≤10 ha resulted in a median habitat loss of 4–6%, but projections were highly variable. Under all three management alternatives, a 50% increase in fire frequency (expected due to climate change) exacerbated habitat loss. The projected losses of habitat in western boreal forest, even with an increase in protected areas, imply that reversing the ongoing population declines of olive-sided flycatcher and other migratory birds will require attention to forest management beyond protected areas. Further work should examine the effects of multiple stressors on the demographic mechanisms driving change in aerial insectivore populations, including stressors on the wintering grounds in South America, and should aim to adapt the design of protected areas and forest management policies to projected climate-driven increases in the size and frequency of wildfires.

Persistent impact of conventional seismic lines on boreal vegetation structure following wildfire

Linear disturbances from geological exploration (i.e., seismic lines) have an extensive footprint across much of Canada’s western boreal forest; however, how seismic lines interact with subsequent wildfire remains poorly understood. We assessed whether wildfires effectively mitigate the footprint of seismic lines by promoting forest recovery. We evaluated the forest structure of legacy seismic lines burned in 2001 and 2002 by comparing them against adjacent unburned control plots, using metrics derived from airborne laser scanning (ALS) data collected between 2007 and 2009. ALS metrics identified persistent differences in vegetation height and structure between seismic lines and adjacent forest controls, 7–9 years post-fire. Median canopy height was 2.90 m lower on upland seismic lines and 1.94 m lower on lowland seismic lines than on adjacent controls, corresponding to a 21% and 25% height reduction, respectively. Field surveys revealed greater graminoid and nonvascular plant cover, and lower tall-tree cover and dead vegetative matter, on seismic lines, in comparison with controls. Our results show that tree recovery remains significantly delayed on most upland and lowland burned seismic lines in our study area, and that additional management efforts or longer timescales may be required to restore these fragmented landscapes.

Indigenous-led camera-trap research on traditional territories informs conservation decisions for resource extraction

The resource extraction that powers global economies is often manifested in Indigenous Peoples’ territories. Indigenous Peoples living on the land are careful observers of resulting biodiversity changes, and Indigenous-led research can provide evidence to inform conservation decisions. In the Nearctic western boreal forest, landscape change from forest harvesting and petroleum extraction is intensive and extensive. A First Nations community in the Canadian oil sands co-created camera-trap research to explore observations of presumptive species declines, seeking to identify the relative contributions of different industrial sectors to changes in mammal distributions. Camera data were analyzed via generalized linear models in a model-selection approach. Multiple forestry and petroleum extraction features positively and negatively affected boreal mammal species. Pipelines had the greatest negative effect size (for wolves), whereas well sites had a large positive effect size for multiple species, suggesting the energy sector as a target for co-management. Co-created research reveals spatial relationships of disturbance, prey, and predators on Indigenous traditional territories. It provides hypotheses, tests, and interpretations unique to outside perspectives; Indigenous participation in conservation management of their territories scales up to benefit global biodiversity conservation.