Caribou Conservation Conundrum by Kyla M. Flanagan, Department of Biological Sciences University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and Jalene M. LaMontagne Department of Biological Sciences DePaul University, Chicago, IL

By the end of this case study, you should be able to: Synthesize biological information related to a conservation topic. Apply ecological principles to a current conservation issue. Assess the appropriateness of a proposed management strategy based on biological evidence. Determine the pros and cons of culling a wolf population in Alberta to protect a declining caribou population. Discuss potential challenges of implementing biologically focused management plans.

Economic Importance of Alberta Oil

Where is this issue taking place? “Environment Canada had to be dragged into court before it came up with a recovery strategy for Canada's endangered woodland caribou” (Max Paris, Environment Unit, VIDEO CBC News: Feb 22, 2012)

What is the concern over the caribou population? What are the threats to the caribou population? What is the management strategy being proposed?

Biologist Profile Rachael Mercer is a biologist who has been working at Environment Canada for 6 months. She completed her undergraduate ecology degree and worked at an environmental consulting company in oil and gas for 2 years. Now, as part of the Environment Canada team, she is responsible for determining if culling wolf populations is a viable LONG- TERM strategy for the conservation of caribou.

Rachael Gets to Work! Wolf Biology Caribou Biology Landscape changes Food web interactions Rachael Gets to Work!

What should Rachael tell the Minister of the Environment What should Rachael tell the Minister of the Environment? Is a wolf cull a viable long-term caribou conservation strategy? Why or why not?

What should we do?

October 10, 2012 Weber, B. Edmonton Journal. 10 Oct 2012 . The Canadian Press

Wrap-up: Challenges What do you think are some challenges of implementing a management plan for caribou in this setting? Are there additional factors that need to be considered?

By the end of this case study, you should be able to: Synthesize biological information related to a conservation topic Apply ecological principles to a current conservation issue Assess the appropriateness of a proposed management strategy based on biological evidence Determine the pros and cons of culling a wolf population in Alberta to protect a declining caribou population Discuss potential challenges of implementing biologically focused management plans

Image Credits Slide 1, top Description: Athabasca Oil Sands NASA Earth Observatory. Source: Image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon using EO-1 ALI data courtesy of the NASA EO-1 team, retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Athabasca_oil_sands.jpg Clearance: Public domain because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted." Slide 1, left Description: Photo of Caribou, Reindeer in Alaska. Source: Jon Nickles, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rentier_fws_1.jpg Clearance: This image is the work of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee, taken or made during the course of an employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. Slide 1, right Description: Photo of Canis lupus. Source: Gary Kramer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/natdiglib/id/203 Slide 3 Description: Graph displaying comparative oil reserves. Source: Government of Alberta, http://www.oilsands.alberta.ca/FactSheets/Economic_FSht_May_2012_Online.pdf Clearance: Used in accordance with terms of use as specified on http://www.oilsands.alberta.ca/copyright.html, last accessed 01/18/2013. Slide 4, left Description: Map displaying location of the Athabasca, Cold Lake and Peace River oil sands in Alberta with regulatory boundaries. Source: Alberta Geological Survey, retrieved from http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/energy/oilsands/index.html. Slide 4, right Description: Caribou map. Source: Figure 2, page 4, of Status of Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Alberta: Update 2010. Alberta Wildlife Status Report No. 30. http://srd.alberta.ca/Fishwildlife/SpeciesAtRisk/DetailedStatus/Mammals/documents/Status-WoodlandCaribou-inAlberta-Jul-2010.pdf.