Journal ArticleShifting and expanding ranges of a sub‐Arctic caribou herd and associated changes in vegetationOrndahl, Kathleen M [School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems Northern Arizona University Flagstaff Arizona USA]; Bentzen, Torsten W [Alaska Department of Fish &amp; Game Fairbanks Alaska USA]; Berner, Logan T [School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems Northern Arizona University Flagstaff Arizona USA] (ORCID:0000000189470479); Ehlers, Libby_P W [W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, Wildlife Biology Program University of Montana Missoula Montana USA]; Hebblewhite, Mark [W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, Wildlife Biology Program University of Montana Missoula Montana USA] (ORCID:0000000153821361); Herriges, Jim D [Bureau of Land Management Fairbanks Alaska USA]; Joly, Kyle [National Park Service Yukon‐Charley Rivers National Preserve Fairbanks Alaska USA]; Macander, Matthew J [ABR, Inc.—Environmental Research &amp; Services Fairbanks Alaska USA]; Palm, Eric C [W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, Wildlife Biology Program University of Montana Missoula Montana USA] (ORCID:0000000253304804); Suitor, Michael J [Department of Environment Fish and Wildlife Whitehorse Yukon Canada]; Goetz, Scott J [School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems Northern Arizona University Flagstaff Arizona USA]<title>Abstract</title> <p>Rapid climate warming has contributed to significant changes in Arctic and boreal vegetation over the past half century. Changes in vegetation can impact wildlife by altering habitat and forage availability, which can affect behavior and range use. However, animals can also influence vegetation through foraging and trampling and therefore play an important role in determining ecosystem responses to climate change. As wildlife populations grow, density‐dependent processes can prompt range expansion or shifts. One mechanism for this is density‐dependent forage reduction, which can contribute to nutritional stress and population declines, and can also alter vegetation change trajectories. We assessed the range characteristics of a migratory caribou (<italic>Rangifer tarandus</italic>) herd in east‐central Alaska and west‐central Yukon Territory as it grew (1992–2017) then declined (2017–2020). Furthermore, we analyzed the correlation between caribou relative spatial density and vegetation change over this period using remotely sensed models of plant functional type cover. Over this period, caribou population density increased in all seasonal ranges. This was most acute in the calving range where density increased 8‐fold, from 1.5 to 12.0 animals km⁻². Concurrent with increasing density, we documented range shifts and expansion across summer, post‐calving and winter ranges. In particular, summer range size doubled (12,000 km²increase) and overlap with core range (areas with repeated year‐round use) was halved. Meanwhile, lichen cover, a key forage item, declined more in areas with high caribou density (2.4% absolute, 22% relative decline in cover) compared to areas where caribou were mostly absent (0.3% absolute, 1.9% relative decline). Conversely, deciduous shrub cover increased more in high caribou density areas. However, increases were dominated by less palatable shrubs whereas more palatable shrubs (i.e., willow [<italic>Salix</italic>spp.]) were stable or declined slightly. These changes in vegetation cover were small relative to uncertainty in the map products used to calculate change. Nonetheless, correlations between vegetation change and caribou range characteristics, along with concerning demographic trends reported over this same period, suggest changing forage conditions may have played a role in the herd's subsequent population decline. Our research highlights the potential of remotely sensed metrics of vegetation change for assessing the impacts of herbivory and trampling and stresses the importance of in situ data such as exclosures for validating such findings.</p>Wiley2025-06-1810645591Ecological Applications354e700381051-0761https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.700382127271; 2127273; 2224776; 2127272National Science Foundation