Reindeer/Caribou

Wild reindeer and caribou, Rangifer tarandus, are widely distributed around the circumpolar Arctic where they play a key role in the environment, culture, and economy of the region. Their migrations often involve several hundred thousand individuals. Being sometimes so abundant, these medium-sized herbivores support a diversity of large- (grizzly bears, Ursus arctos horribilis) and medium-sized predators (wolves, Canis lupus, and wolverines, Gulo gulo), as well as scavengers. They are also an important part of the nutrient cycle in the Arctic. Terrestrial Arctic habitats are mostly nutrient-limited and reindeer and caribou, through their forage intake and output (i.e., fecal pellets), could have complex and cascading effects.
(Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.)

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ABA 2013 Table 03 01 caribou reindeer 

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Table 3.1. Summary of historical population estimates for 22 circumpolar caribou and wild reindeer herds. Data courtesy of Circum-Arctic Rangifer Monitoring Assessment Network (CARMA) and D.E. Russell & A. Gunn; http://www.carmanetwork.com/display/public/home. Data vary substantially among herds and over time in accuracy and precision, and represent only general patterns of abundance.

 

 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

www.caff.is 

The data can be downloaded freely.

Users are requested to reference it source.

Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

ABA 2013 Box 03 02 CaribouAbundance 

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Box 3.2 Figure1. Recent time series abundance estimates (figures in thousands of animals) for some migratory tundra caribou and wild reindeer herds (data courtesy of Circum Arctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network (CARMA), and Russell & Gunn 2012).

 

 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

www.caff.is 

The data can be downloaded freely.

Users are requested to reference it source.

Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

ABA 2013 18 01 Reindeer 

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 18.1. Distribution (per cent) of domesticated reindeer on countries of the circumpolar North (www.reindeerportal.org).

 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

www.caff.is 

The data can be downloaded freely.

Users are requested to reference it source.

Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

ABA 2013 18 02 ReindeerRussia 

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 18.2. Numbers (× 1,000) of reindeer in the main reindeer husbandry areas of Russia, 1990, 2000 and 2010.

 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

www.caff.is 

The data can be downloaded freely.

Users are requested to reference it source.

Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

ABA 2013 18 03 ReindeerArctic 

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 18.3. Reindeer populations (x 1,000) in selected Arctic countries, 1990, 2000 and 2007 (www.reindeerportal.com).

 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

www.caff.is 

The data can be downloaded freely.

Users are requested to reference it source.

Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

ABA 2013 18 05 Hunters 

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 18.5. a) Numbers of commercial hunters (pink) versus number of recreational hunters (blue) who have reported harvest of seabirds since 1993 in Greenland; b) Numbers of Greenland hunters who have reported harvest of caribou since 1993

 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

www.caff.is 

The data can be downloaded freely.

Users are requested to reference it source.

Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

rangifer chart

Wild Rangifer populations: population peak compared to today (millions of animals)

 

ZIP file includes 2 datasets:

1. Excel file

2. Image file

 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)
www.caff.is 
The data can be downloaded freely.
Users are requested to reference it source.

i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.
Graphics: Hugo Ahlenius

 
rangifer map

The distribution and observed trends of wild Rangifer populations throughout the circumpolar Arctic

(data from the wild Circum Arctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network, CARMA).

Note: Wild boreal forest reindeer have not been mapped by CARMA and thus are not represented here

 

ZIP file includes 2 datasets:
1. Shapefile
2. Image

 

 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)
www.caff.is
The data can be downloaded freely.
Users are requested to reference it source.

i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.
Graphics: Hugo Ahlenius

reindeerherding siberia

A false color Quickbird-2 satellite image of a portion of the Bovanenkovo Gas Field on the Yamal Peninsula in West Siberia. Image acquired 4 July 2004. The construction phase began in the late 1980s. From that period onward there remain visible signs of extensive off-road vehicle traffic across the terrain. Many of those tracks have naturally revegetated and now appear as bright red, indicating dense grass- and sedge-dominated vegetation. The road network was built in the mid-1990s, which has reduced off-road traffic significantly. However, infrastructure blocks segments of migration routes for Nenets and their reindeer herds, and pasture quality can be negatively affected by road dust, petrochemicals, trash left on the tundra, and even feral dogs abandoned by workers.

 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

www.caff.is 

The data can be downloaded freely.

Users are requested to reference it source.

i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.

Mammals Globally threatened species and populations within the Arctic Region

Globally threatened species and populations within the Arctic Region.

 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

www.caff.is  
The data can be downloaded freely.
Users are requested to reference it source.

ARCTIC FLORA AND FAUNA: Status and Conservation. Documentation. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group (CAFF).

Source: Hilton-Taylor 2000.
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