Dr. Heather Johnson is a Research Wildlife Biologist at the Alaska Science Center | US Geological Survey

Recent declines in most barren-ground caribou herds across North America have coincided with the ‘greening of the Arctic’, raising concerns about the influence of changing summer habitat conditions on caribou populations. The short Arctic summer provides caribou with important forage but is also the time they are exposed to intense harassment by insects, factors which are both being altered by longer, warmer growing seasons. Additionally, the summer ranges of barren-ground caribou in Alaska often overlap areas targeted for energy development, compounding concerns about the resilience of caribou to changing conditions. This talk will highlight recent research by USGS and our partners to better understand the influence of summer habitat and human development on caribou behavior and demography in the Alaskan Arctic, with implications for how populations may be impacted in the future.

Brief Biography: Heather Johnson is a Research Wildlife Biologist at the USGS Alaska Science Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Heather has a PhD in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana, a MS in Wildlife Science from the University of Arizona, and a BS in Ecology from the University of California, San Diego. Heather’s research primarily focuses on understanding how climate- and anthropogenic-driven changes in habitat conditions influence the behavior and demography of large mammals, and the effectiveness of management strategies for minimizing impacts. Prior to working for the USGS, Heather conducted research for Colorado Parks and Wildlife and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.