Caribou

Describe your organism’s ability to adapt to changes in the environment (Describe what ‘change’ is ACTUALLY occurring in the environment!). Is it human caused? Natural? Be specific! 

Woodland caribou have adapted to an environment in which forest fires are the main type of disturbance. However, human disturbances such as forest harvesting, oil and gas exploration/extraction, and road networks fragment their habitat, creating open areas and young forests that attract species such as moose and deer. This in turn attracts increased numbers of predators, such as wolves. Climate change is also having an impact on woodland caribou by shifting their geographic distribution. Additional factors impacting caribou include hunting and poaching, noise and light disturbances from resource industry development, parasites and disease.

How has genetic variation enabled your organism to survive in its environment?

Caribou have compact bodies so their surface area is exposed to the cold so they can keep their body heat in. Their legs, fur, hooves, muzzle, sense of smell and stomach have all learned to change in their environment. Their legs are good for turns on the rough ground, for ploughing snow, and swimming. In the water they’re able to be buoyant, and that’s because of their fur, which is 2 layers. Which is hollow like straw. The caribou's large feet have 4 toes.The large 2 concave hooves offer stable support on soggy ground or on crusty snow. The pads of the hoof change from a thick shape in the summer to hard and thin in the winter. Caribou thrust their muzzles into the snow to sniff for food or to find food. Caribou muzzles are special since they’re densely covered with short hairs. The hairs help warm the intensely cold air before it goes into the lungs. Another adaptation for living in snowy conditions is the caribou's fantastic sense of smell. Under 5 feet of snow, a plant can be sniffed out by a caribou. Caribou, have a four-chambered stomach and a complex digestive system that lets them to thrive on vegetation. They digest every bit of nutrients possible out of the food they eat. This allows them to thrive on winter food sources that don’t contain a high level of nutrients as things available in the summer which is a important adaptation for winter survival.

Describe the relative abundance of your organism...is it threatened? Endangered? Extirpated from an area?

There two main types of caribou, barren-ground caribou, who live on the tundras and arboreal or woodland caribou who prefer the forest. Caribou population in Canada has caused it to to be on the endangered list since 2002. Caribou have been declining for quite some time now. Caribou ranges where populations fall within AWA Areas of Concern and/or are considered  to be at “immediate risk of extirpation” under Alberta’s Woodland Caribou Recovery Plan or are listed as Threatened under Alberta’s Wildlife Act and the federal Species at Risk Act. They have also been described as vulnerable.

Describe any example of your organism participating in a symbiotic relationship. This includes: 

-Symbiotic: involving interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association

-Mutualism: Symbiosis that is beneficial to both organisms involved. Microorganisms inside the stomach of the caribou. The Microorganisms help the caribou digest food in doing so giving to organisms some food too which helps both critters out making it Mutualism

-parasitism: The practice of living as a parasite in or on another organism. Liver tapeworm cysts are common parasites involved in a symbiosis with caribou

-commensalism: An association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm. The barren ground caribou and the arctic fox represent commensalism. The fox follows the caribou who removes the snow covering to get at lichens under the soil. The fox then hunts the animals that have been unearthed by the caribou. 

Is your organism a GENERALIST (having a broad niche) or a SPECIALIST (having a narrow niche)? Provide a map that illustrates you know the difference between these two terms 

Caribous eat grass, leaves, flowers and lichens. The caribous are hunted by wolves and caribou calves are often eaten by lynx. The American Woodland Caribou probably have a broad niche because they can eat lots of vegetation and can live in different elevations and places like forests or mountains.The Caribou is a generalist because it's a migratory animal. A generalist species is one that has a large niche and is able to adapt quickly to environmental changes.

What efforts are humans undertaking to help preserve diversity of your species? 

Across Canada, CPAWS national and regional conservation staff and volunteers are working with provinces, territories and the federal government, progressive companies, local communities and First Nations to develop conservation measures for arboreal woodland caribou on public lands, including those leased to resource companies.

AND THE GOAL IS 

• Strong provincial and territorial recovery strategies and other legal tools that need to be implemented for at-risk caribou herds across Canada, focused on woodland caribou (in progress)

• Design and implementation of robust range plans for each boreal woodland caribou herd under the Federal Species-at-Risk Act with significant and effective protection for core caribou habitat (in progress)

• Caribou habitat conservation proposals on lands leased to forest companies, developed with partners in the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement and/or the Forest Stewardship Council and with provincial and First Nation governments (in progress)

• Integration of robust caribou conservation considerations in land use management tools and other tools that could reduce or halt the threats to critical habitat, such as forest management laws, permitting regulations, and environmental impact assessments practices (in progress)

Describe any “defenses” your organism may have against predators and/or how your organism attacks its prey/gets its food

 When snow begins to fall, caribou move south and travel to more sheltered climes where they can feed on its food. These members of the deer family dig for food using their large hooves. The underside of each hoof is hollowed out like a big scoop and allows the caribou to dig through snow in search of food.