{"id":28576,"date":"2019-05-07T02:18:38","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T06:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sfiprogram.org\/?p=28576"},"modified":"2023-03-23T13:34:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T17:34:56","slug":"doing-research-that-matters-for-caribou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forests.org\/fr\/doing-research-that-matters-for-caribou\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing Research that Matters for Caribou"},"content":{"rendered":"

Impact<\/strong> (Imp\u00e6<\/u>kt: noun) \u2013 the sudden and powerful positive or negative effect something has on a situation, process, or person.<\/p>\n

In the scientific community, the effect that a research program has on society is described as the work\u2019s positive \u201cimpact.\u201d Where once it was considered enough to publish findings in respectable journals and move on, there is an increasing movement to assess the impact that findings have more broadly, especially considering the amount of public funds often invested.<\/p>\n

When considering the field of conservation, one would think that any and all research that helps improve how we conserve the natural world would automatically have impact. Unfortunately, such is not always the case. Conservation research comes with a myriad of challenges, setbacks and pitfalls, and even the best work takes significant time \u2013 sometimes many years \u2013 to get published and adopted by decision-makers.<\/p>\n

At SFI, conservation is an integral aspect of our work, and we strive every day to make the research we support relevant \u2013 to give it positive impact. We believe that good research should contribute to the diverse work that we do including to provide supply chain assurances, deliver conservation leadership, and support environmental education and community engagement. That\u2019s a tall order to fill.<\/p>\n

Collaborating on woodland caribou research
\n<\/strong>One of the ways SFI is contributing to conservation in Canada is through collaborating on woodland caribou research. Woodland caribou, a subspecies of reindeer that ranges across Canada\u2019s vast boreal landscape, is considered threatened through much of its territory. In recent years caribou have become a political flashpoint owing to their complex relationship with industrial and natural disturbance, predators and climate change. What is clear is that caribou have varied and important relationships with their habitat, and SFI has helped improve understanding and develop tools to help conserve caribou across the boreal forest.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Researchers have long understood that caribou and their deer cousins, moose and white-tailed deer, have a complicated relationship because of their mutual predators, wolves and bears. As a result, habitat configuration \u2013 both the amount of forest and its distribution intermingled with roads, seismic lines, fires and other forms of disturbance \u2013 have multiple effects on all five species.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

What\u2019s Causing Caribou Declines?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>

While research is ongoing, there are several things thought to cause caribou population declines, many of which interact with other species, and each other. Evidence for each of the factors listed here is significant:<\/p>\n