. Ecological investigations of the tundra biome in the Prudhoe Bay region, Alaska. Tundra ecology. 173 1973 as shown in Table 1. Estimates of the cohort and herd dry matter intakes for 1972 and 1973 are shown in Fig. 12. Thus, in 1972 when the average population on the study area was 155 animals, an estimated 25,000 kg of dry matter was consumed during the study period (21 June to 10 August). In 1973, the population was considerably lower, averaging 55 animals. 1972 -o o-. June 10 20 30 10 July Aug en 0) I 5,000 '^ E o Fig. 12. Predicted cumulative herbage consump- tion by caribou in the Prudh


. Ecological investigations of the tundra biome in the Prudhoe Bay region, Alaska. Tundra ecology. 173 1973 as shown in Table 1. Estimates of the cohort and herd dry matter intakes for 1972 and 1973 are shown in Fig. 12. Thus, in 1972 when the average population on the study area was 155 animals, an estimated 25,000 kg of dry matter was consumed during the study period (21 June to 10 August). In 1973, the population was considerably lower, averaging 55 animals. 1972 -o o-. June 10 20 30 10 July Aug en 0) I 5,000 '^ E o Fig. 12. Predicted cumulative herbage consump- tion by caribou in the Prudhoe Bay study area in the summer of 1972 and 1973. and the amount of herbage consumed in the study period was approximately 5,400 kg. (d) Estimation of size of study area. The interpretation given to harvest values has more meaning to the ecosystem as a whole if intake or harvest is expressed per unit area and in relation to primary production. As stated in the methods section, caribou populations at Prudhoe Bay were usually assessed by visual observation from the road system. The area under surveillance, km on either side of the road, amounted to 530 km^ and lay between the approximate boundaries of 149°05' W in the east, 148°08' W in the west, 70°08' N in the south, and 70° 22' N in the north (Fig. 1). However, this area included riverbeds, ponds, and lakes as well as vegetated land. To estimate the relative amounts of each land type in the study area, 13 transects (6 north-south and 7 east-west) were drawn on a topographic map, and the relative occurrence of each area noted. The results, shown in Table 16, indicate that approximately 54% of the study area (, 288 square km), was vegetated in late July and hence was available for grazing by caribou. An effort was also made to calculate the total area of continuous habitat available to the caribou at Prudhoe Bay. An examination of topographic maps of the Prudhoe Bay/Beechey Point area suggested that the coastal tundr


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