Ya Ha Tinda Elk Monitoring Project
Since 2000, researchers at the University of Alberta and University of Montana have worked collaboratively to investigate how changes in the Ya Ha Tinda elk population are affected by humans (harvest, habitat management), natural factors (predation, climate) and natural vegetation dynamics. We work to understand the changing migratory behavior of elk and the trophic dynamics within this predator-prey-montane grassland system and also a long-term perspective on grassland dynamics. Combined, our studies of the population at Ya Ha Tinda represent one of the longest elk population studies in a system with intact natural predators, including wolves and grizzly bears and human hunting.
Announcements
The Ya Ha Tinda Elk Herd: Long-term Insights into Predator-prey Ecology and Conservation with Mark Hebblewhite. Bow Valley Naturalists, February 2021. Available on ZOOM here https://bowvalleynaturalists.org/public-programs/
June 2021:Four-year Final Report released!
May 2021: New paper in Science on the need for a Global Initiative on Ungulate Migration in partnership with the UN Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
October 2019: Martin, H., Hebblewhite, M., Merrill, E.H. 2019 Ideal free migration?? testing for density-dependent migration in partially migratory elk. Presentation. Wildlife Society conference & American Fisheries joint conference, Reno, Nevada, October 2019.
July 2019: Mateen Hessami’s undergraduate thesis (PDF) is published!
June 2019: Our 2019 annual progress report (.pdf) is now available.