Monitoring wolverines: noninvasive and community-based initiative

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With support from the Government of Canada’s Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk (AFSAR) (Prevention Stream), the Arviat Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO) led a one-year project in 2014-2015 to collect data on Wolverine distributions to help develop a management plan for this species.

Why this project is important

Wolverines (Gulo gulo) are unevenly distributed across the tundra. The species’ density is likely dependent on seasonal distributions of caribou and muskox, which it preys on. In Nunavut, Wolverine densities are moderate in the west and low on the arctic islands and in the east. It was assessed as Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2014 but currently is not listed under the Species at Risk Act. Inuit observations and scientific studies indicate that the Wolverine population is stable or slightly increasing, but in its southern Canadian range, population declines have been reported due to habitat loss and fragmentation from development.

What was done

The Arviat HTO and the Nunavut Department of Environment used two approaches for this project. First, they collected Inuit beliefs, values and traditional knowledge from Elders and hunters to identify Wolverine habitat, distribution, and harvest patterns, as well as caribou and muskox distribution. Second, using habitat identified by Arviat hunters, they set up hair-snagging posts to collect Wolverine hair samples over a sampling grid covering 4,550 km² about 200 km northwest of Arviat, Nunavut. Hair snagging is a non-invasive sampling method that collects hair samples for genetic analyses. This allows researchers to identify individual Wolverines, estimate population size and range, and gather other ecological information on the species.

Achievements of this project

• Conducted interviews with 10 Wolverine hunters and Elders to identify Wolverine habitat, distributions, and harvest patterns.  
• Identified an area of important Wolverine habitat 200 km northwest of Arviat, Nunavut. This was a remote area with limited harvest pressures which could provide understandings of natural Wolverine densities in the region.
• Collected 851 hair samples for genetic analysis and identified 40 (19 females and 21 males) individual Wolverines through DNA hair analysis. Using spatially explicit capture-recapture methods, this project reported the first population and density estimates of Wolverines in Nunavut, estimating 4.5 Wolverines/1,000 km².
• Trained three Arviat HTO members to work as wildlife monitors for the protection of wildlife in Nunavut.

Significance of this project

By involving local hunters, the Arviat HTO has increased community wildlife monitoring capacity in Nunavut and has gathered valuable Wolverine population information that will be used in the development of a management plan to maintain sustainable Wolverine populations.

Aboriginal fund for species at risk - Prevention stream
Email: ec.faep-afsar.ec@canada.ca