Adult survival is a crucial factor influencing the population dynamics of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ), yet its relationship with environmental variables remains poorly understood. We explored linkages among lichen abundance (the primary winter forage), snow depth, and overwinter survival of adult female caribou in the Western Arctic Herd (WAH), a large population of barren-ground caribou ( R. t. granti ) in northwest Alaska....

Long‐distance migrations are a striking, and strikingly successful, adaptation for highly mobile terrestrial animals in seasonal environments. However, it remains an open question whether migratory animals are more resilient or less resilient to rapidly changing environments. Furthermore, the mechanisms by which animals adapt or modify their migrations are poorly understood. We describe a dramatic shift of over 500 km in the w...

Climate change models often assume similar responses to temperatures across the range of a species, but local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity can lead plants and animals to respond differently to temperature in different parts of their range. To date, there have been few tests of this assumption at the scale of continents, so it is unclear if this is a large‐scale problem. Here, we examined the assumption that insect taxa...

Ecological flexibility within animal populations can allow for variation in resource use and foraging decisions. We estimated brown bear ( Ursus arctos ) diet composition in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska from 2013 to 2015 to evaluate how variation in foraging behavior influences body condition and size. We used stable carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotope analyses of sectioned brown bear hair s...