Drop In Reindeer, Caribou Population Linked To Climate Change, Habitat Disturbance

June 12, 2009 10:05 p.m. EST

Edmonton, Alberta (AHN) - The number of herds of caribou and reindeer in the northern hemisphere is declining due to climate change and disturbance of their habitat, according to Canadian scientists.

The findings detailed in the Global Change Biology Journal was based on the analysis of available herd data performed by Liv Vors, a Ph.D. student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and university biologist Mark Boyce.

Out of 58 major herds in the northern hemisphere, 34 were found to be declining for decades and statistics on 16 other herds were non-existent. Only eight herds were increasing in number.

The researchers blame feeding problems as the cause of the decline in the animals' population namely lack of spring green-ups, disruption in feeding due to intense insect activity during warmer summers and more freezing rains that cut the lichens they eat during colder months.

Populations of woodland caribou in Canada have declined as human disturbance has increased, caused by logging, oil and gas exploration, and road building, said Vors, according to BBC News.

"The concern is that their habitat and the climate are changing too quickly for them to adapt," she said.