Gillingham, Michael

I investigated the behavioural, physiological, and movement responses of barren-ground caribou to the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road in the central Northwest Territories. Previous research on the zone of influence around industrial infrastructure indicates that caribou avoid these industrial disturbances. This response implies changes in the behaviour, physiology, and movement of caribou as well. I used a multi-method approach to investigate these hypothesized changes for caribou adjacent to the road, employing behavioural observations, assessment of levels of fecal glucocorticoids, and GPS collar data. My results suggest that caribou change their behaviour and movement near the winter road. They engaged in more walking and less foraging near the road, though no relationship was found between the level of fecal glucocorticoids and proximity to the winter road. Using a novel estimation of traffic activity, I demonstrated that caribou crossing of the winter road was negatively correlated with the level of traffic. This barrier effect was not just related to the road’s right-of-way as caribou crossed roads when they were closed to traffic and the probability of selecting a crossing site was extremely low when normal levels of traffic occurred. My results provide new insights on the spatial, behavioural, and physiological responses of caribou when adjacent to industrial features. These findings can guide monitoring and mitigation of existing infrastructure and assist with the evaluation of impacts of proposed mines and roads.

Pacific marten (Martes caurina) may benefit from invasive or non-native species that occur across some coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest. I used remote-camera trapping and stable-isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to infer resource-use strategies of marten on Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada. Marten are more likely to be detected in 3 ha patches with less logging and optimal amounts of road and forest edge habitat, and areas close to marine shorelines and streams. Findings from bulk carbon and nitrogen stable-isotope analysis suggest that terrestrial fauna, including birds, deer, small mammals, and invertebrates, contribute the most to diet; marine invertebrates are the second-most important prey group. Marten consume salmon and berries seasonally, but these are a relatively minor component of the diet. Knowledge of habitat and diet ecology of this generalist, apex predator should be integrated into ecosystem-based management and conservation of the globally rare old-growth forests that remain relatively intact on Haida Gwaii.

"Prescribed fire is used as a management tool to enhance ungulate habitats. In northeastern British Columbia, up to 7,800 ha are burned annually. Yet relatively few studies have quantified the role of fire on plant and animal response, and whether it enables species such as Stone's sheep (Ovis dalli stonei) and elk (Cervus elaphus). In the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area, we examined the response of Stone's sheep and elk to seasonal changes in forage quantity and quality over an elevation gradient in areas recently burned by prescribed fires versus unburned control areas. We monitored vegetation and fecal-pellet transects at a fine scale and used Landsat imagery, survey flights, and telemetry locations at a landscape scale. One year after burning, forage digestibility and rates of forage growth were higher on burned than unburned areas. At both scales, Stone's sheep and elk always used burns more than unburned areas in winter. Stone's sheep and elk appeared to partition their use of the landscape through topography and land cover. Increased use of burned areas suggests that prescribed fires enhanced habitat value for grazing ungulates at least in the short term. By altering animal distributions, however, use of prescribed fire has the potential to change predator-prey interactions."

"Heliskiing activity has increased in many areas of mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) range, particularly in British Columbia (B.C.). Current B.C. guidelines recommend that heliskiing activity remains ≥1500 m from mountain goat winter range when the helicopter is visible to animals, and ≥500 m when the helicopter is masked by topography. Whether these guidelines effectively prevent disturbance of mountain goats, however, is unknown. In 2007 - 2010, we examined locations and movements of 11 female mountain goats relative to heliskiing activity. We determined the proximity and frequency of heliskiing activity that animals were exposed to given current guidelines, and through examination of disturbance responses, determined how guidelines could be revised to better mitigate impacts of heliskiing activity. Although adherence to current guidelines eliminated most heliskiing activity that could result in disturbance, incidental helicopter approaches occurred within 1500 m of collared mountain goats with frequencies of exposure up to 1 h ∙ month⁻¹ ∙ animal⁻¹. Animals reacted to helicopters ≤2 km away, and responded equally to visible and non-visible helicopters. Seasonal effects on movement behaviour, however, were not evident, potentially because of the low frequency of helicopter exposure. We recommend that the B.C. guidelines be revised to: 1) establish no-fly areas within 1500 m of goat habitat regardless of visibility; 2) require pre-planning of heliskiing activities to ensure that no-fly areas are effectively avoided; and 3) extend no-fly areas to 2 km where heliskiing frequencies exceed 1 h ∙ month⁻¹ to minimize the cumulative effect of incidental encounters. These guidelines should apply consistently to all helicopter activity."

"Bioenergy, or energy derived from biomass, was the predominant energy source for humans from prehistory to the mid-19th century. With on-going energy security issues, rising greenhouse-gas (GHG) levels driven by fossil fuel energy consumption and volatile natural resource prices, the biomass energy of yesterday is now being re-evaluated as the energy source for tomorrow. The technology of bioenergy production has evolved considerably in recent years, such that heat, electricity and liquid fuels for transportation can all be derived from a wide variety of biomass starting materials. Though the transformation of sunlight energy into chemical biomass energy in plants is in theory an endlessly renewable process, the way in which we manage our lands to generate this biomass energy can be degradative and unsustainable when all of the land-use values are taken into account. This paper evaluates bioenergy through the prism of sustainability, highlighting issues relating to the physical and temporal scales of the resource and impacts of its use, technological opportunities and limitations, net environmental impacts, and community concerns and needs. The geographic focus is the central interior of British Columbia, however, the issues raised in this paper will be relevant to all locations considering bioenergy."