For more information about the PhD studentship available now on
migration of caribou in the Canadian Arctic, please contact:
Steve Albon, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Banchory, AB31 4BW,
Scotland (s.albon [at] ceh.ac.uk)
Brent Patterson, Gov't of Nunavut, Kugluktuk, Nunavut, X0B 0E0, Canada
(bpatterson [at] gov.nu.ca)
Sarah Woodin, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of
Aberdeen, Scotland (s.woodin [at] abdn.ac.uk)
PhD studentship available now:
MIGRATION OF CARIBOU IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC
Closing date for applications is: 23 February 2001
The mechanisms responsible for migratory behaviour of large herbivores
may include 1) forage availability, 2) predation by carnivores, 3) risk
of parasitic infections. In the Arctic, caribou have to contend with the
problem that, for most of the year, access to forage is restricted by
snow and ice, while in the summer because above-ground plant biomass is
typically low, caribou may trade-off forage quality for quantity. Thus
migration may enhance the exploitation of patches of forage that cannot
be occupied year round either because of restricted access in winter or
risk of over-grazing. Also, an additional benefit of migrating to
seasonally available pastures may be to reduce transmission of
gastro-intestinal nematodes, which depress body condition and fitness.
Finally, in some situations, for example, caribou wintering in the taiga
forest and calving on the tundra, migration may reduce the risk of
predation by moving beyond the feeding range of wolves concentrated
close to denning sites at the tree-line.
A three-year PhD studentship is available to investigate the influence
of forage quantity and quality, and risk of parasitism on caribou
migrating between calving grounds on Victoria Island, Nunavut, Canada
(70ºN, 110ºW), and wintering on the mainland, in the vicinity of
Bathurst Inlet. The student will undertake field observations of feeding
behaviour of satellite-collared caribou in summer and winter ranges, in
order to relate diet selection to measures of plant species abundance
and quality. Counts of nematode eggs in caribou faeces will provide
indices of parasite burden calibrated against adult and larval nematode
worm counts in harvested caribou, and correlated to body condition.
Experiments to establish risk of parasitic infection will investigate
development from nematode eggs through free-living stages to infective
larvae in different plant communities in the summer and winter ranges.
Knowledge of these interactions is crucial to understanding the
mechanisms driving migratory behaviour.
The studentship, funded by the Government of Nunavut, Canada, will start
in late April 2001 and lead to a PhD from the University of Aberdeen,
Scotland. It will involve field work in all seasons, except
December-February, and periods in Aberdeen, working within both the
University of Aberdeen Department of Plant and Soil Science and the
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Banchory. Candidates should have
either a good first degree or MSc in an ecological science. Candidates
must be physically fit, and able to work in arduous conditions in very
remote locations. Field experience in the Arctic would be an advantage.
The closing date for applications is 23 February 2001.
For further details, please contact:
Steve Albon, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Banchory, AB31 4BW,
Scotland (s.albon [at] ceh.ac.uk)
Brent Patterson, Gov't of Nunavut, Kugluktuk, Nunavut, X0B 0E0, Canada
(bpatterson [at] gov.nu.ca)
Sarah Woodin, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of
Aberdeen, Scotland (s.woodin [at] abdn.ac.uk)