Presentation Type
Poster Presentation - Campus Access Only
Abstract/Artist Statement
Migration is the seasonal movement of animals from one region to another, a behavioral strategy adapted to spatial variation in resource abundance. In addition to the access of resources, migration can also allow animals to escape from predators at local scales by moving to areas of lower predator density. While we often think of migration in a binary sense (either a population migrates or it doesn’t), many species of animal exhibit partial migration where a portion of the population exhibits migratory behavior and a portion remains as resident year round. As migratory paths and migratory behavior disappear globally, it is important to understand why individuals within a population migrate while some remain as residents and how this behavioral decision influences reproduction and survival.
To answer these questions, I am studying the migratory behavior and resulting population dynamics of the Ya Ha Tinda elk herd in Alberta, Canada. The population has declined over the past 20 years from ~2,200 individuals to ~450 individuals and has seen dramatic shifts in the ratios of migrant and resident individuals in the population. What is interesting about this behavior is that recent research on this population determined that an individual elk switches between resident and migrant strategies throughout its life. We will use over 16 years of data on survival, reproduction, and movement to understand the effect that switching has on the population dynamics of this herd and why this switching behavior occurs. The management and persistence of this elk herd is important to both Provincial managers and Parks Canada biologists because this elk herd summers both in Banff National Park and on Provincial lands and winters on Provincial lands outside of the park providing both viewing opportunities within the park and hunting opportunities outside of the park.
Mentor Name
Dr. Mark Hebblewhite
Testing for facultative switching between migratory strategies in a partially migratory, long-lived herbivore population
UC South Ballroom
Migration is the seasonal movement of animals from one region to another, a behavioral strategy adapted to spatial variation in resource abundance. In addition to the access of resources, migration can also allow animals to escape from predators at local scales by moving to areas of lower predator density. While we often think of migration in a binary sense (either a population migrates or it doesn’t), many species of animal exhibit partial migration where a portion of the population exhibits migratory behavior and a portion remains as resident year round. As migratory paths and migratory behavior disappear globally, it is important to understand why individuals within a population migrate while some remain as residents and how this behavioral decision influences reproduction and survival.
To answer these questions, I am studying the migratory behavior and resulting population dynamics of the Ya Ha Tinda elk herd in Alberta, Canada. The population has declined over the past 20 years from ~2,200 individuals to ~450 individuals and has seen dramatic shifts in the ratios of migrant and resident individuals in the population. What is interesting about this behavior is that recent research on this population determined that an individual elk switches between resident and migrant strategies throughout its life. We will use over 16 years of data on survival, reproduction, and movement to understand the effect that switching has on the population dynamics of this herd and why this switching behavior occurs. The management and persistence of this elk herd is important to both Provincial managers and Parks Canada biologists because this elk herd summers both in Banff National Park and on Provincial lands and winters on Provincial lands outside of the park providing both viewing opportunities within the park and hunting opportunities outside of the park.