251. Abundance and movements of caribou in the oilfield complex near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
- Author
-
E.A. Lenart, K.R. Whitten, R.D. Cameron, W.T. Smith, and D.J. Reed
- Subjects
disturbance ,biology ,Ecology ,pipeline ,Caribou ,Oil Field ,Disturbance Ecology ,oilfield ,General Medicine ,biology.organism_classification ,Rangifer tarandus ,The arctic ,Rangifer tarandus granti ,Arctic ,caribou ,Geography ,Habitat ,Abundance (ecology) ,lcsh:Animal culture ,Quadrat ,Bay ,Prudhoe Bay ,Alaska ,lcsh:SF1-1100 - Abstract
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.
- Published
- 1995