Caribou are a member of the deer family; they eat lichen, moss, grass, and other low-growing plants. their hair is hollow, and holds heat well. Caribou have special feet that spread apart, helping them walk on snow and spongy tundra, and swim. Tendons in their feet click when they walk. Most Western Arctic Herd, Teshekpuk Herd, Central Arctic Herd, and the Porcupine Herd caribou; totaling over half a million animals, migrate through the Central Brooks Range moving to the north slope for summer and to the south side of the mountains in winter.
The large numbers of caribou migrating over vast distances support and affect many animal and plant species. They are a food source for people, bears, wolverines, and wolves. By browsing and grazing, caribou help shape habitats; they can have substantial effects on plant an lichen communities which in turn affect wildlife communities.
For those living a subsistence lifestyle, caribou are a lifeline. They are a main subsistence food source for Native residents in arctic Alaska. Many of these subsistence users identify themselves as "caribou people" revealing just how deeply rooted caribou are in the history, traditions, and psyche of the people in this region.
Park scientists are focusing research and monitoring efforts on the Western Arctic Caribou Herd. It is the largest herd in Alaska and is accessed by the most villages in the Arctic. To monitor the herd, scientists are using technology to track the herd to determine the timing and location of migrations. Monitoring where caribou are during different seasons is perhaps the simplest means to track the influence of climate change, natural disruptions, development, and other potential impacts. Caribou are a "Vital Sign" for the Arctic Network Inventory and Monitoring Program (ARCN).
Information gathered from research and monitoring will be used to:
Better manage caribou herds.
Better manage subsistence hunting.
Identify factors that may alter patterns of habitat use and migration routes.
Locations:Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve
Offices:Arctic Inventory & Monitoring Network
Read a summary and get the link to a published paper that describes how caribou decide where to spend the winter based on previous experience. Gurarie, E., C. Beaupré, O. Couriot, M. D. Cameron, W. F. Fagan, and K. Joly. 2024. Evidence for an adaptive, large-scale range shift in a long-distance terrestrial migrant. Global Change Biology 30 (11): e17589.
Read a summary and get a link to a published paper on how caribou and wolves respond to severe winter storms and how diverse landscape features provided some protection: Prugh, L. R., J. D. Lundquist, B. K. Sullender, C. X. Cunningham, J. Dechow, B. L. Borg, P. J. Sousanes, S. Stehn, and M. T. Furand. 2024. Landscape heterogeneity buffers the impact of an extreme weather event on wildlife. Communications Biology 7(1515).
Read a summary and get the link to a published article on caribou migration. Joly, K., M. D. Cameron, and R. G. White. In press. Behavioral adaptation to seasonal resource scarcity by Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) and its role in partial migration. Journal of Mammalogy.
Read a summary and get the link to an article about caribou foraging: Ehlers, L., E. Palm, J. Herriges, T. Bentzen, M. Suitor, K. Joly, J. Millspaugh, P. Donnelly, J. Gross, J. Wells, B. Larue, and M. Hebblewhite. 2024. A taste of space: Remote animal observations and discrete-choice models provide new insights into foraging and density dynamics for a large subarctic herbivore. Journal of Animal Ecology 93(7): 891-905.
Read the abstract and get the link to a published article on detecting icing events in: Bartsch, A., H. Bergstedt, G. Pointner, X. Muri, K. Rautiainen, L. Leppänen, K. Joly, A. Sokolov, P. Orekhov, D. Ehrich, and E. M. Soininen. 2023. Towards long-term records of rain-on-snow events across the Arctic from satellite data. The Cryosphere 17(2): 889-915.
Locations:Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve
Read the abstract and get the link to a paper published in the Wildlife Bulletin about representativeness among collared animals in a population: Prichard, A. K., K. Joly, L. S. Parrett, M. D. Cameron, D. A. Hansen, and B. T. Person. 2022. Achieving a representative sample of marked animals: A spatial approach to evaluating post-capture randomization. Wildlife Society Bulletin e1398.
Read the abstract and access an article published in a peer-reviewed science journal on how caribou migration is changing in the Arctic. Joly, K., A. Gunn, S. D. Côté, M. Panzacchi, J. Adamczewski, M. J. Suitor, and E. Gurarie. 2021. Caribou and reindeer migrations in the changing Arctic. Animal Migration 8: 156-167.
Read the abstract and link to a new paper that explores where caribou from the Western Arctic Herd calve: Cameron, M. D., K. Joly, G. A. Breed, C. P. H. Mulder, and K. Kielland. 2020. Pronounced fidelity and selection for average conditions of calving area suggestive of spatial memory in a highly migratory ungulate. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8: e564567.
Read the abstract and get the link for an article on caribou movement and calving recently published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology: Cameron, M. D., K. Joly, G. A. Breed, L.S. Parrett, and K. Kielland. 2018. Movement-based methods to infer parturition events in migratory ungulates. Canadian Journal of Zoology 96:1187-1195. DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2017-0314.
Locations:Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve
Read the abstract and get the link for an article on caribou migration patterns published in Movement Ecology: Baltensperger, A. P., and K. Joly. 2019. Using seasonal landscape models to predict space use and migratory patterns of an arctic ungulate. Movement Ecology 7 (18). DOI: 10.1186/s40462-019-0162-8.
