TY - JOUR AU - Cameron, R.D. AU - Lenart, E.A. AU - Reed, D.J. AU - Whitten, K.R. AU - Smith, W.T. PY - 1995/12/01 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Abundance and movements of caribou in the oilfield complex near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska JF - Rangifer JA - Ran VL - 15 IS - 1 SE - Articles DO - 10.7557/2.15.1.1150 UR - https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/1150 SP - 3-7 AB - We examined the distribution and movements of 141 radiocollared female caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) of the Central Arctic Herd during summer, 1980-1993. Numbers of caribou locations within each of 5 quadrats along the arctic coast were totalled separately for days during which insects were active and inactive, and numbers of east-west and west-east crossings of each quadrat mid-line were determined from sequential observations. Both abundance and lateral movements of radiocollared females in the quadrat encompassing the intensively-developed Prudhoe Bay oilfield complex were significantly lower than in other quadrats (P < 0.001 and P < 0.00001, respectively). Avoidance of, and fewer movements within, the complex by female caribou are ostensibly in response to the dense network of production and support facilities, roads, above-ground pipelines, and the associated vehicular and human activity. Impaired access to this area constitutes a functional loss of habitat. ER -