Defining the Pen Islands Caribou Herd of southern Hudson Bay

In this paper, we describe the Pen Islands Herd of caribou, the largest aggregation of caribou in Ontario (it also occupies a portion of northeastern Manitoba). Photographic counts showed the herd had a minimum population of 2300 in 1979, 4660 in 1986, 7424 in 1987 and 10 798 in 1994. Throughout the 1980s, the Pen Islands caribou exhibited population behaviour similar to migratory barren-ground caribou herds, although morphology suggests they are woodland caribou or possibly a mixture of subspecies. The herd had well-defined traditional tundra calving grounds, formed nursery groups and large mobile post-calving aggregations, and migrated over 400 km between tundra summer habitats and boreal forest winter habitats. Its migration took it into three Canadian jurisdictions (Ontario, Manitoba, Northwest Territories) and it was important to residents of both Manitoba and Ontario. It is clear that the herd should be managed as a migratory herd and the critical importance of both the coastal and variable large winter ranges should be noted in ensuring the herd's habitat needs are secure

Factors affecting the site of investment, and the reliance on savings for arctic breeders : the capital–income dichotomy revisited

The extent to which migratory birds that breed in the Arctic and winter in southern biomes rely on residual body stores for reproduction is unresolved. The short arctic summer and the limited availability of food early in the season constrain the time available for successful reproduction. Birds that are able to bring sufficient endogenous reserves to the breeding ground to meet, at least partially, the demands of egg-laying can initiate clutch production soon after arrival, thereby shortening the length of the breeding season and improving the chances of reproductive success. The amount of reserves available will be influenced by body size, the increased energetic and predation costs associated with carrying large stores, distances between staging sites and the location of the breeding grounds within the Arctic. Birds need not fly directly to the breeding grounds from the established temperate staging sites. Extensive feeding by migrants may occur in the Arctic, even within a few kilometres of the breeding sites as the birds track the retreating snowline. Irrespective of their size, birds are thus able to store some resources necessary for egg laying at local or regional scales. It is thus important to make a distinction between local capital and distant capital breeding. The extent to which a bird is characterized as a distant capital, local capital, or an income breeder not only varies between species, but also between individuals and seasons.<br /

Causes and Consequences of Broad-Scale Changes in the Distribution of Migratory Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) of Southern Hudson Bay

Understanding the factors driving changes in species distributions is fundamental to conservation, but for wide-ranging species this is often complicated by the need for broad-scale observations across space and time. In the last three decades, the location of summer concentrations of migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in southern Hudson Bay (SHB), Canada, has shifted south and east as much as 500 km. We used long-term data (1987 – 2011) to test two hypotheses that could explain the distribution shift: forage depletion and anthropogenic disturbance. Over time and space, we compared the body size of live-captured adult female caribou, dietary quality from fecal nitrogen in July, the location of VHF- and GPS-collared female caribou in July, distribution of all-terrain vehicle (ATV) tracks and caribou tracks in August, and the proximity of collared caribou to sections of the coast with higher ATV activity in spring and summer. The forage depletion hypothesis was supported by greater body size and dietary quality in caribou of the eastern portion of SHB than in western SHB animals in 2009 – 11. The anthropogenic disturbance hypothesis was supported by the negative correlation of the distributions of ATV tracks and caribou tracks on the coast in 2010 and the fact that caribou avoided areas with ATV activity by 10 – 14 km. In 1987, collared caribou were observed largely along the coast in western SHB in mid-July, while in 2009 – 11, they were inland in western SHB and along the coast in eastern SHB. While these locations demonstrate a substantial change in summer distri­bution over three decades, we were unable to differentiate between forage depletion and anthropogenic disturbance as a single causal factor of the distribution shift.La compréhension des facteurs qui influencent les changements caractérisant les distributions des espèces est fondamentale aux efforts de conservation, mais pour les espèces dont l’aire de distribution est étendue, ce principe est souvent compliqué par la nécessité de faire des observations à grande échelle, dans le temps et dans l’espace. Au cours des trois dernières décennies, l’emplacement des concentrations estivales du caribou migrateur (Rangifer tarandus) dans le sud de la baie d’Hudson (SBH), au Canada, s’est déplacé vers le sud et vers l’est dans une mesure de 500 km. Nous nous sommes appuyés sur des données de longue haleine (1987–2011) pour mettre à l’épreuve deux hypothèses susceptibles d’expliquer ce changement en matière de distribution, soit l’appauvrissement du fourrage et la perturbation anthropique. Au fil du temps et de l’espace, nous avons comparé la taille du corps des caribous femelles adultes capturées vivantes, la qualité de leur alimentation à partir de l’azote fécal en juillet, l’emplacement des femelles portant un collier de type VHF ou GPS en juillet, la répartition des traces de véhicules tout terrain (VTT) et des pistes de caribou en août de même que la proximité des caribous portant un collier aux tronçons de la côte où la présence de VTT est plus grande au printemps et à l’été. L’hypothèse de l’appauvrissement du fourrage a été étayée par la plus grande taille du corps et la qualité de l’alimentation du caribou de la zone est du SBH comparativement à celles du caribou de l’ouest du SBH entre 2009 et 2011. Pour sa part, l’hypothèse perturbation anthropique a été appuyée par la corrélation négative caractérisant la répartition des pistes de VTT et des traces de caribou sur la côte en 2010 et par le fait que les caribous sont restés à l’écart des zones fréquentées par les VTT dans une mesure de 10 à 14 km. En 1987, des caribous portant un collier ont été observés en grand nombre le long de la côte ouest du SBH à la mi-juillet, tandis que de 2009 à 2011, ils ont été repérés à l’intérieur des terres dans l’ouest du SBH et le long de la côte est du SBH. Bien que ces emplacements indiquent un important changement en matière de distribution estivale au cours de trois décennies, nous n’avons pas été en mesure de faire une distinction entre l’appauvrissement du fourrage et la perturbation anthropique en tant que facteur causal unique du changement de distribution

Recent changes in summer distribution and numbers of migratory caribou on the southern Hudson Bay coast

The status of migratory woodland caribou inhabiting the coastal region in southern Hudson Bay is dynamic. The Pen Islands Herd within that region was defined in the 1990s, but opportunistic observations between 1999 and 2007 suggested that its status had significantly changed since the late 1980s and early 1990s. We undertook systematic surveys from the Hayes River, MB, to the Lakitusaki River, ON, in 2008 and 2009 to determine current distribution and minimum numbers of woodland caribou on the southern Hudson Bay coast from the Hayes River, Manitoba, to the Lakitusaki River, Ontario. We documented a significant change in summer distribution during the historical peak aggregation period (7-15 July) compared to the 1990s. In 2008 and 2009, respectively, we tallied 3529 and 3304 animals; however, fewer than 180 caribou were observed each year in the Pen Islands Herd&rsquo;s former summer range where over 10 798 caribou were observed during a systematic survey in 1994. Over 80% of caribou were in the Cape Henrietta Maria area of Ontario. Calf proportions in herds varied from 8% of animals in the west to 20% in the east. Our 2008 and 2009 systematic surveys were focused on the immediate coast, but one exploratory flight inland suggested that more caribou may be inland than had been observed in the 1980s-1990s. The causes of change in the numbers and distribution in the coastal Hudson Bay Lowlands and the association of current caribou with the formerly large Pen Islands Herd may be difficult to determine because of gaps in monitoring, but satellite telemetry, genetic sampling, remote sensing, habitat analysis, and aboriginal knowledge are all being used to pursue answers

Distribution and relative abundance of caribou in the Hudson Plains Ecozone of Ontario

To determine past distribution and relative abundance of caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in the Hudson Plains Ecozone (HPE) of Ontario, we reviewed past HPE-wide winter systematic aerial surveys, partial winter systematic surveys, summer photographic surveys, incidental observations of caribou, and other sources of information from the period 1950&mdash;2003. We conducted new HPE-wide aerial surveys in February 2003 and 2004 to evaluate current distribution patterns. From this information, we defined 9 core wintering areas in the HPE and differentiated between 3 catego&not;ries of relative abundance. Wintering areas for the January&mdash;March period have changed relatively little over the past 45 years. Summer distribution of caribou along the Hudson Bay coast apparently shifted or expanded from the area west of the Severn River to the central and eastern portions of the coast since the 1980s, and caribou observations have become much more common in the area east of the Winisk River since 1998. Because major resource development activities in the HPE are proposed and some are imminent, we recommend additional caribou surveys to document current caribou population identity, size, and distribution, and research projects to better define caribou wintering areas, calving areas, and movement patterns in the HPE

Prevalence of HIV among blood donors at Juba Teaching Hospital Blood Bank, South Sudan

Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of HIV among blood donors in Juba Teaching Hospital Blood Bank, South Sudan in 2013.Method and Materials: This is a retrospective study that involved the abstraction of data from registers at the blood bank. Data were collected onto data sheets and entered into a computer database. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Version 20 Software. A p value of &lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Out of 1095 blood donors, 1074 (98.1%) were males and 21 (1.9%) were females. The mean age and the range for the whole group was 29+7.16 (15-69) yrs. The prevalence of HIV was higher among males than females 85 (7.9%) vs 1 (4.8%) respectively but this was not statistical significant (p=0.6). The 20 to 29 year age group had the highest prevalence of 49 (57%) with no statistical significance (p=0.3). The prevalence of HIV was 7. % (86) and there were co-infections between HIV and HBV, HCV and syphilis of14 (50%), 5 (18%), 9 (32%) with p=0.7, p=0.1, p=0.8 respectively. Blood group O positive had the highest percentage 58.1 % (n=50) and was the commonest group.Conclusion: In this study, HIV prevalence is very high among blood donors at the Juba Teaching Hospital blood bank

Plasma Dynamics

Contains reports on six research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant ENG79-07047)U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Grant AFOSR77-3143D)U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Contract AFOSR82-0063)U.S. Department of Energy (Contract DE-ACO2-78-ET-51013)U.S. Department of Energy (Contract DE-AC02-78ET-53073.A002

Plasma Dynamics

Contains reports on seventeen research projects split into two sections.National Science Foundation (Grant ENG77-00340)U. S. Energy Research and Development Administration (Contract E(11-1)-2766)U. S. Energy Research and Development Administration (Contract EY-76-S-02-2766)U. S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Grant AFOSR-77-3143)U. S. Department of Energy (Grant EG-77-G-01-4107