Caribou Habitat Information Platform
An interactive online reporting tool on trends over time in habitat disturbance and recovery within caribou ranges. Explore reports for individual subpopulations of boreal woodland, southern mountain, and northern mountain caribou in Alberta and British Columbia.
Range Disturbance and Recovery Tool
A web-based app to explore and interact with disturbance data occurring within caribou ranges. Vary thresholds for when disturbances are considered recovered, and filter for individual caribou subpopulations. Explore different recovery trajectories over time.
About the program
The Caribou Habitat Tracker program provides up-to-date, high-resolution information on habitat disturbance across Alberta and British Columbia’s caribou ranges.
Woodland caribou (Caribou rangifer tarandus) are a species at risk in Canada. Habitat alteration from natural and human-caused disturbance is a primary cause of caribou population declines.
Self-sustaining populations of woodland caribou require vast amounts of undisturbed area, generally consisting of mature conifer forest and peatlands. These areas provide space away from deer and moose and the predators they in turn support, as well as food sources such as lichen. Landscape disturbances, such as fires and human land use, can negatively impact these refugia, leading to caribou population declines.
Disturbances can contribute to caribou declines in a number of ways. Disturbances such as wildfires and timber harvest can increase forage for species such as deer and moose, causing their populations to increase. This in turns supports larger populations of predators like wolves, which can incidentally predate caribou at unsustainable rates. Linear disturbances such as roads and seismic lines can increase the hunting efficiency of wolves and increase wolf use of caribou habitat, which can further increase predation pressure on caribou.
Habitat protection and restoration are key measures to support the conservation and recovery of woodland caribou habitat and populations. Habitat disturbance is a key metric used to track the extent and condition of caribou habitat.
learn more
The Caribou Habitat Information Platform is a novel and innovative tool for tracking disturbance within caribou ranges. Transparent metrics of landscape change over time are used to track caribou habitat in Alberta and British Columbia.
Detailed methods and data sources Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
A Biodiversity Pathways initiative
The Wildlife Science Centre is part of Biodiversity Pathways, a value-neutral non-profit that develops and implements science-based monitoring programs. We aim to provide relevant, accessible information to support decision-making.
Visit biodiversitypathways.ca