The relationship between weather and caribou productivity for the La-Poile Caribou Herd, Newfoundland
Keywords:
caribou, Rangifer, weather, productivity, LaPoile Caribou Herd, Newfoundland, density dependence
Abstract
To describe the relationship between weather and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) productivity, we compared weather variables (snow on ground, winter temperature and measures of growing season) with measures of productivity (calves seen by hunters, calves and yearlings in the harvest and percent calves and yearlings and pregnancy rate for caribou classified during fall and spring surveys) for the LaPoile Caribou Herd in southwestern Newfoundland. Hunter statistics reliably estimated changes in population demography. Percent calves seen by hunters was correlated with calves/100 females classified in fall. Weather may have influenced productivity for the LaPoile Caribou Herd in Newfoundland. Colder winter temperatures were associated with fewer calves the next fall and pregnancy rates and yearlings/100 females in the spring were negatively correlated with snow on ground the previous winter. These relationships appear to be density related.
Published
1991-10-01
How to Cite
Ferguson, S. H., & Mahoney, S. P. (1991). The relationship between weather and caribou productivity for the La-Poile Caribou Herd, Newfoundland. Rangifer, 11(4), 151-156. https://doi.org/10.7557/2.11.4.1005
Section
Articles
Copyright (c) 2015 Steven H. Ferguson, Shane P. Mahoney
Authors retain copyright and grant Rangifer irrevocable and non-exclusive right of publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY). This means, among other things, that anyone is free to copy and distribute the content, as long as they give proper credit to the author(s) and the journal. For further information, see Creative Commons website for human readable or lawyer readable versions.
