Climate cycles and insect pests drive migration timing of reindeer’s North American cousin

Biologists have discovered two unexpected drivers for migration timing that dispute long-held assumptions and provide insight into potential future effects of climate change on caribou. First, the start of migration is synchronized across North America and tied to large-scale, ocean-driven climate cycles. Second, warm, windless summers that favored insect pests lead to poorer maternal health and delayed arrivals at the calving grounds the following spring.
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