title: Broad-scale lake expansion and flooding inundates essential wood bison habitat.
abstract: Understanding the interaction between the response of a complex ecosystem to climate change and the protection of vulnerable wildlife species is essential for conservation efforts. In the Northwest Territories (Canada), the recent movement of the Mackenzie wood bison herd (Bison bison athabascae) out of their designated territory has been postulated as a response to the loss of essential habitat following regional lake expansion. We show that the proportion of this landscape occupied by water doubled since 1986 and the timing of lake expansion corresponds to bison movements out of the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary. Historical reconstructions using proxy data in dated sediment cores show that the scale of recent lake expansion is unmatched over at least the last several hundred years. We conclude that recent lake expansion represents a fundamental alteration of the structure and function of this ecosystem and its use by Mackenzie wood bison, in response to climate change.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N6N5.|Department of Geography, York University, Toronto, 4700 Keele Street, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3.
authors.forename: Jennifer B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Korosi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N6N5.|Department of Geography, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1.
authors.forename: Joshua R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Thienpont
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1.
authors.forename: Michael F J
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Pisaric
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: deMontigny
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6.
authors.forename: Joelle T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Perreault
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4.
authors.forename: Jamylynn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4.
authors.forename: Myrna J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.affiliation: Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada X0E 0P0.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.affiliation: Northwest Territories Geological Survey, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada X1A 2L9.
authors.forename: Steven V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kokelj
authors.affiliation: Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Smol
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N6N5.
authors.forename: Jules M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Blais
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016164:Bison / Q000502:physiology*; D002980:Climate; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D055868:Floods; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D060106:Lakes; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry; D015873:Northwest Territories; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D010636:Phenols; D008031:Lignin