WOODLAND CARIBOU Ben Flaman

Biodiversity The difference of life in the world or in a particular habitat or an ecosystem. What branch of the Albertan Government is responsible for biodiversity and species at risk? The lands and forest part of the government is responsible for biodiversity and species at risk.

Appearance and pictures Both male and female grow antlers Males have huge racks, while cows have smaller racks with less points. Large feet with crescent shaped hooves, make travel easy in deep snow or soggy moss bogs. Summer coat, rich dark brown on backs, sides legs and face, creamy white necks.

habitat Boreal forests of northern Alberta and mixed coniferous forests and alpine regions of west-central Alberta. Inhabit about 13000kms of Alberta, aprox 17.1% of northern and west central parts of the province. Caribou distribution has moved northward from southern habitat limits where human encounters has been greatest.

Adaptations Throughout North America, woodland caribou range has retracted northward and most populations across Canada are now in decline. Canadian populations of woodland caribou are listed under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) as Endangered

classification the woodland is a primary consumer because it is only a plant eater and it can be eaten by any secondary consumer, bears, fox, coyote, ect. Any animal that eats meat.

Role in the food web They mostly graze on grasses and they eat berries they eat any vegitation. Caribou are herbivores. Their main food source is lichens, which gives caribou an advantage in the more harsh northern areas of its range where vegetation is scarce. The common "caribou moss" is actually a type of lichen (Cladonia rangiferina), which is a major food for caribou. Caribou also eat vegetation such as grasses, sedges, birch and willow leaves, and mosses. The wolf is the greatest natural predator of the caribou and, for thousands of years, has been known to follow migrating caribou herds, killing mostly the aged, injured or weak animals. Caribou are also an important food source for Canadians, in particular native communities throughout the north.

Why it is at risk to date at least half of the caribou's range has been lost due to activities that disturb and fragment their forest habitat, such as road building. These changes in the boreal forest due to human activity make caribou an easy target for their natural predators. At present, boreal woodland caribou are listed as "threatened" under the federal Species at Risk Act — this means that they are threatened with extinction.

Current strategy for recovery Recovery of species at risk is the process by which the decline of an endangered, threatened, orextirpated species is arrested or reversed, and threats are removed or reduced to improve the numbers of woodland caribou. Nine months after the completion of a recovery strategy a government response statement will be published which summarizes the actions that the Government of Ontario intends to take in response to the strategy.

Part 1 What is biodiversity: different plants and animals living together in the same ecosystem and have to interact with each other. What part of the Alberta government is responsible for biodiversity and species at risk: environment and sustainable resource development. Endangered: a species facing imminent extirpation or extinction Threatened: a species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed Vulnerable: a species of special concern because of characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events Extirpated: a species that no longer exists in the wild in the Province but exists in the wild outside the Province Extinct: a species that no longer exists

Resources habitat/science/critical-species/boreal-woodland- caribou/?gclid=CM7E1PKO5r4CFUOSfgod754Aeg mal_facts/mammals/caribou.html species/mammals/deer/woodland-caribou.aspax pdf