In conjunction with the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board (Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı) we successfully completed the fourth consecutive year of winter fecal sampling of Northern Mountain Caribou (Shúhta goɂepę́) in the Mackenzie Mountains. This ongoing research is part of the Nı́o Nę P’ęnę́ – Trails of the Mountain Caribou: Renewing Indigenous Relationships in Conservation project.…
The CCA (Council of Canadian Academies) published a report on the future of Arctic and Northern research in Canada. A new expert panel determined that an inclusive, collaborative, and effective Northern research system must be accessible and accountable to Northern and Indigenous communities while also safeguarding Indigenous knowledge systems and data. Summary The North is…
A big thank you to Derek Smith and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) laboratories for helping get the first MinION nanopore sequencing test run started! After an informative trip by Ella Clarke to the ECCC River Road laboratory (Ottawa, ON), to troubleshoot some technical issues, our lab team is now set up with the…
Ecogenomics biologist Cory Fournier attended the Ontario boreal caribou knowledge plan workshop on the 18-10th October 2023. This 2 days workshop was hosted by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) and Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and held in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The workshop brought together various stakeholders including municipal,…
Novel multilayer network analysis to assess variation in the spatial co-occurrences of close kin in wild caribou populations Authors: Teri Jones , Micheline Manseau, Brandon Merriell, Gigi Pittoello, Dave Hervieux, Paul Wilson Abstract Understanding how individuals within populations are connected genetically and through shared space-use is critical to understanding the demographic patterns of at-risk populations.…
EcoGenomics Principal Investigators Dr. Micheline Manseau and Dr. Paul Wilson are organizing a panel discussion at the GEO BON Global Conference: Monitoring Biodiversity for Action. In this panel the long-term Ecogenomics project will be introduced and it will be reflected on the history and expansion of this collaborative network, what has been accomplished, benefits and…
Genomic population structure and inbreeding history of Lake Superior caribou Authors: Kirsten Solmundson, Jeff Bowman, Micheline Manseau, Rebecca Taylor, Sonesinh Keobouasone, Paul Wilson. Abstract Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) have experienced dramatic declines in both range and population size across Canada over the past century. Boreal caribou (R. t. caribou), 1 of the 12 Designatable Units, has…
The NACW is a central event for sharing Indigenous knowledge, science and lessons learned, reporting on caribou status and discussing approaches to address key challenges to caribou conservation, management and recovery. For the very first time this year, the 19th North American Caribou Workshop (NACW) and 16th Arctic Ungulate Conference are combined and held together…
A successfully survey of the Redstone caribou herd in the Mackenzie Mountains of the Northwest Territories – the results of an excellent collaboration between the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Polar Continental Shelf Program and Epéchille Production.
Dr. Micheline Manseau, one of the Principal Investigators of the EcoGenomics research program, recently spoke at the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute’s Caribou Ecology & Recovery Webinar Series on how advances in genomics methods are opening new horizons in caribou monitoring and conservation. Genetic data, most often obtained non-invasively by collecting fecal or hair samples, can…
