Caribou from the Rivière-aux-Feuilles migratory caribou herd. New research into how the landscape influences genetic diversity in caribou underlines the importance of considering how land use changes over the course of the year. (Photo credit: Joëlle Taillon)
Maintaining healthy genetic diversity in caribou means ensuring that populations don’t become fragmented, but a new study underlines just how tricky this can be.
Currently, caribou preserves are constructed without taking into account how the habitat needs of caribou change throughout the year; for example, land that is prime pasture in summer may be snow-covered and barren during the winter. By taking these seasonal changes into account, the authors created a new model that better explains the genetic relationships between caribou groups in Quebec and Labrador than previous models.
Original research paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences on August 12, 2014.
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