##  [Birth Date Determines Early Calf Survival in Migratory Caribou](/resource/birth-date-determines-early-calf-survival-migratory-caribou) 

Organization

[Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval](/organization/centre-detudes-nordiques-universite-laval)

[Université de Sherbrooke](/organization/universite-de-sherbrooke)

[Government of Quebec](/organization/government-quebec)

 

 

Resource Type

[Peer reviewed article](/taxonomy/term/37)

 

 

Author(s)

Barbara Vuillaume

Julien Richard

Sandra Hamel

Joelle Taillon

Marco Festa-Bianchet

Steeve Côté

 

 

Original Authors

Barbara Vuillaume

Julien Richard

Sandra Hamel

Joëlle Taillon

Marco Festa-Bianchet

Steeve Côté

 

 

Resource Date:

August

2023

 

Page Length

12

 

 

**Abstract**

The decline of most caribou (*Rangifer* *tarandus*) populations underlines the need to understand the determinants of key demographic parameters. In migratory caribou, we have limited information on rates and drivers of pre-weaning mortality. We fitted 60 pregnant females of the Rivière-aux-Feuilles caribou herd with GPS camera collars to track the survival of calves from birth to weaning in 2016–2018. Over the three years, calf survival rate before weaning, i.e. to 01-Sep, approximately three months of age, was 0.63 (CI 0.50–0.77). Summer mortality risk was mainly influenced by calf birth date, with calves born earlier in the calving season having a lower mortality risk than those born later. Mortality also increased when calves experienced low or high temperature during calving. This study provides the first estimates of pre-weaning survival of migratory caribou calves in this herd, illustrating the value of new technologies to collect data otherwise difficult to obtain in widely distributed migratory populations. This approach can easily be extended to other large herbivores and predators. Our study brings new insights on how climate change may affect summer juvenile survival given the increased temperatures and faster changes in plant phenology expected in the future.