Habitat Selection and Population Trends of the Torngat Mountains Caribou Herd
We fitted 9 Argos and 26 global positioning system (GPS)-collars on 35 adult caribou (25 female, 10 male) from the declining Torngat Mountains caribou herd in northern Quebec-Labrador between 2011 and 2016 to assess seasonal habitat selection at 2 spatial scales, current and future population trends, and interactions with the neighboring Riviere-George migratory caribou herd.
The decline of the Torngat Mountains population was principally attributed to the low survival of adult females (0.72 annual survival rate) owing to subsistence harvest and predation. Demographic models revealed that the growth rate of the population could vary from 0.83 (current) to 0.94 following a decrease in harvest pressure. Using demographic scenarios, we showed that the Torngat Mountains herd could continue to decrease if no management actions were taken to increase adult female survival.
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2011