Broad-scale lake expansion and flooding inundates essential wood bison habitat

Jennifer B. Korosi (), Joshua R. Thienpont, Michael F. J. Pisaric, Peter deMontigny, Joelle T. Perreault, Jamylynn McDonald, Myrna J. Simpson, Terry Armstrong, Steven V. Kokelj, John P. Smol and Jules M. Blais
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Jennifer B. Korosi: University of Ottawa
Joshua R. Thienpont: University of Ottawa
Michael F. J. Pisaric: Brock University
Peter deMontigny: Carleton University
Joelle T. Perreault: Carleton University
Jamylynn McDonald: University of Toronto Scarborough
Myrna J. Simpson: University of Toronto Scarborough
Terry Armstrong: Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories
Steven V. Kokelj: Northwest Territories Geological Survey, Government of the Northwest Territories
John P. Smol: Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), Queen’s University
Jules M. Blais: University of Ottawa

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Understanding the interaction between the response of a complex ecosystem to climate change and the protection of vulnerable wildlife species is essential for conservation efforts. In the Northwest Territories (Canada), the recent movement of the Mackenzie wood bison herd (Bison bison athabascae) out of their designated territory has been postulated as a response to the loss of essential habitat following regional lake expansion. We show that the proportion of this landscape occupied by water doubled since 1986 and the timing of lake expansion corresponds to bison movements out of the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary. Historical reconstructions using proxy data in dated sediment cores show that the scale of recent lake expansion is unmatched over at least the last several hundred years. We conclude that recent lake expansion represents a fundamental alteration of the structure and function of this ecosystem and its use by Mackenzie wood bison, in response to climate change.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14510

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