Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Alaska
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

This pilot study will develop and evaluate the noninvasive technique derived from captive trials for assessing body condition of wild populations of caribou in Alaska. These data are also part of larger project comparing body condition of Rangifer spp. across North America which will provide baselines for regional and international monitoring programs. Future work will examine variation in demography (e.g., age and sex structure), resource availability and quality, and reproductive success in relation to changes in body condition at the individual and population levels.