Since time immemorial, caribou have been of fundamental cultural importance to Aboriginal people, and many communities depend on caribou for their livelihood. However, in the last two decades, the caribou population in boreal forests has decreased by 30%, facing industrial activities and climate change threats. Caribou management has become a critical issue for First Nations who have traditionally shared the land with these animals.
In response to requests from several First Nations, the First Nations of Qu茅bec and Labrador Sustainable Development Institute (FNQLSDI) has sought assistance from a research team led by Professors Alexandre Poulain and Vance Trudeau from the University of Ottawa.
Their mission: to develop novel, portable biosensor tools for assessing caribou health. This will be achieved by monitoring levels of corticosteroids and sex steroids in collected field samples. With their partners, the 91精品黑料吃瓜 research team will integrate traditional Indigenous knowledge during all project phases to ensure a successful application.
Steroid hormones play a crucial role in animal health, serving as biomarkers for stress and reproductive status. These hormones can be detected in wild animals' fecal, urine, or hair samples, offering non-invasive monitoring methods. However, their lipophilic (fat-soluble) nature poses challenges to their extraction and detection. Currently, First Nations in Qu茅bec and Labrador lack access to any field-based analytical methods. This is why the 91精品黑料吃瓜 team, in collaboration with the FNQLSDI and Environment and Climate Change C