Associations between Woodland Caribou telemetry data and Landsat TM spectral reflectance

Woodland Caribou Rangifer tarandus caribou habitat mapping in northern Alberta, Canada is incomplete and imprecise, as habitat relationships are not fully understood, and land cover mapping is neither consistent nor complete. Spectral information obtained through remote sensing observations makes possible the evaluation of Woodland Caribou habitat use over large areas. With the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) collars fitted on the animals, correlations between satellite observations and Woodland Caribou locations were studied. This study examines Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper imagery of the Wabasca region of northern Alberta in relation to a dataset containing nearly 100000 locations acquired from GPS radio-collars and approximately 5000 locations acquired from Very High Frequency (VHF) radiocollars. The intent was to determine if spectral signatures measured by remote sensing satellites could be related to habitat use or avoidance by caribou, and to use this knowledge to predict caribou habitat selection in areas where there are no collared animals. The analysis presented in this paper provides a new perspective for the analysis of large and complex habitat selection datasets and opens new opportunities for the implementation of better and more comprehensive conservation policies in boreal environments. The methodology and habitat associations presented in this paper are being used in northern Alberta to advance caribou conservation.