Fullman Timothy J, Joly Kyle, Gustine David D, Cameron Matthew D
The Wilderness Society, Anchorage, Alaska, 99501, USA.
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network, National Park Service, Fairbanks, Alaska, 99709, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 9;15(1):24712. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-10216-6.
Migration conveys many benefits to species, ecosystems, and people but relies upon connected landscapes. Anthropogenic development can present barriers for migrants, but many barriers are semi-permeable, allowing unhindered or delayed passage. We used a modified version of the Barrier Behavior Analysis (BaBA) to investigate seasonal movement responses to five roads in northwestern Alaska by adult female Western Arctic Herd caribou (Rangifer tarandus) from 2009 to 2024. Our analyses revealed some altered movement in response to all focal roads. We found that the roads were semi-permeable barriers to movement, with altered behaviors including bouncing away, moving back-and-forth, and tracing along roads. Overall, 63.1% of collared animals encountered (entered a road-specific buffer) at least one focal road. Of these, 61.5% displayed altered movements. At the scale of individual encounters with roads, we found altered movement in 27.1% of road encounters. Most encounters occurred during fall migration and caribou with altered behavior spent an average of 9.4 days longer near focal roads than those with unaltered movement. Altered movements were balanced among the behavioral responses. Most altered movements occurred near the Red Dog mining road (60.3%) or during fall migration (51.9%) but lasted longest during winter (17.2 days on average). We confirm prior findings of altered fall movements near the Red Dog road and demonstrate that movement behavior is also altered around other roads and in other seasons. Nonetheless, many collared caribou did not display altered movements in response to roads, emphasizing the need for further research to understand the mechanistic drivers of caribou movement responses. Given increasing pressures for infrastructure development and global challenges facing migratory species, it is critical to identify mitigation measures and inform management decisions seeking to balance responsible development with conservation of natural systems, including migratory species and the people that rely upon them.
迁徙给物种、生态系统和人类带来诸多益处，但依赖于相互连接的景观。人为发展可能会给迁徙者带来障碍，但许多障碍是半透性的，允许不受阻碍或延迟通过。我们使用了屏障行为分析（BaBA）的改进版本，来研究2009年至2024年成年雌性西部北极驯鹿（Rangifer tarandus）对阿拉斯加西北部五条道路的季节性移动反应。我们的分析揭示了对所有重点道路的移动都有一些改变。我们发现这些道路是移动的半透性屏障，改变的行为包括跳开、来回移动和沿着道路追踪。总体而言，63.1%的佩戴项圈的动物遇到（进入特定道路缓冲区）了至少一条重点道路。其中，61.5%表现出移动改变。在个体与道路相遇的尺度上，我们发现在27.1%的道路相遇中存在移动改变。大多数相遇发生在秋季迁徙期间，行为改变的驯鹿在重点道路附近比行为未改变的驯鹿平均多停留9.4天。行为反应中的移动改变是平衡的。大多数移动改变发生在红狗矿路附近（60.3%）或秋季迁徙期间（51.9%），但在冬季持续时间最长（平均17.2天）。我们证实了之前关于红狗路附近秋季移动改变的发现，并表明其他道路周围和其他季节的移动行为也会改变。尽管如此，许多佩戴项圈的驯鹿对道路没有表现出移动改变，这凸显了进一步研究以了解驯鹿移动反应的机制驱动因素的必要性。鉴于基础设施发展的压力不断增加以及迁徙物种面临的全球挑战，确定缓解措施并为旨在平衡负责任发展与自然系统保护（包括迁徙物种和依赖它们的人类）的管理决策提供信息至关重要。
