Team

Caribou are a vital part of northern ecosystems and have been central to the culture and food security of Indigenous Peoples for thousands of years. To support caribou recovery, better knowledge of how climate change affects calf survival and calving areas is needed. Every spring, female caribou migrate long distances to return to traditional calving areas. Most calves are born within just two weeks in late May and early June at the same time as key plants emerge. This timing is critical: if calves are born too late, their chances of survival decrease. Warming Arctic temperatures, however, leadto earlier emergence of this key vegetation. I will combine innovative methods to understand how climate affects the survival of newborn caribou and the migration of females. I will use satellite tracking to estimate when and where calves are born, and how weather conditions affect their survival. Using old female antlers, which are shed at calving, I will also reconstruct calving areas dating back thousands of years. Finaly, I will partner with hunters and Elders to document years of unusual calving patterns, which can be linked to historical climate records. By combining Western science with Indigenous knowledge, my research will provide new knowledge on how climate affects caribou births and calf survival. These insights will give Indigenous Nations the tools to protect calving areas and to support caribou recovery in a rapidly changing Arctic.