Northern caribou are one of three ecotypes of non-migratory woodland caribou in British Columbia, and are designated as threatened species, primarily due to direct and indirect effects of habitat alterations. In particular, forest management activities in portions of their range may directly reduce access to food supply, and indirectly increase predator densities and increase mortality rates. To help address this problem, Cortex was brought in as the Technical Advisor to the Northern Caribou Recovery Implementation Group (NCRIG).

Services: Cortex developed a spatially explicit, individual-based model of caribou demography and movement behaviour in response to habitat preferences and predation risk. This model is linked to outputs of other spatial model components (Caribou Habitat Assessment Supply Estimator [CHASE]; landscape projection and range evaluation models) that project effects of natural disturbances, habitat succession, and forest harvesting patterns on the quality of seasonal habitats used by herds.

Outcomes: The spatially explicit population model (figure below) helped the NCRIG identify possible habitat management strategies to minimize long-term risks of extirpation of critical herds within the range of the Northern Caribou in north-eastern B.C.