LA CHAIRE DE RECHERCHE

The management of animal and plant biological resources in forest ecosystems has experienced major changes over the past years. From sectional and directive, the management became more participative for local populations and now includes the whole range of resources within a territory, taking into account the particular characteristics of the natural setting. Situations where herbivores are at the same time a major resource and a threat to ecosystem integrity are especially difficult to manage. For instance, this is the case when the deer use their habitat in a way that jeopardizes natural habitat regeneration. Anticosti Island provides a 7943 km²natural laboratory that offers the possibility of learning about this growing phenomenon in North America as well as in Europe.

The approximate 200 deer that were introduced by Menier at the end of the 19^thcentury rapidly multiplied, taking advantage of a suitable habitat and the absence of predators. According to historic accounts and models of the population dynamics of deer, it is estimated that the number of deer easily reached 180 000 individuals (~25 deer/km²) at the beginning of the 1930s. However, the first reliable population estimates were obtained at the end of the 1980s, when aerial surveys estimated the total deer population at 120 000 animals (15 deer/km²). Since then, the deer population seems to be limited mainly by the availability of food resources, and it fluctuates according to the severity of winters and large-scale forest dynamics.

Such high herbivore density has strong repercussions on the forest. In the 1920-1930s, botanists reported the first changes in vegetation stemming from deer browsing. From 1935, it was noted that some broad-leafed shrubs such as pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica), white birch, quaking aspen and American mountain-ash (Sorbus americana), formerly abundant on the island, were practically eliminated by the deer.

During the following decades, several researchers reported major modifications in the woody and herbaceous vegetation layers because of intense deer browsing, suggesting the emergency of increasing hunting pressure. However, despite the infrastructures and facilities in place today, each year sport hunters collect less than 10% of the total population, a harvest that is not high enough to achieve any population control.

It is the very composition and structure of the forest that have been modified in past years. The regeneration of balsam fir stands, a key habitat for deer winter survival on Anticosti Island, is currently compromised by deer browsing on fir seedlings. The surface covered by balsam fir stands has been reduced by 50% during the last hundred years. Balsam fir stands are progressively replaced, almost exclusively, by white spruce forests, a tree species eaten very little or not at all by deer.

Counter-intuitively, however, the decline of fir stands could have a short or medium term positive effect on the deer population. Indeed, old firs are more easily blown down by strong winds, and these fallen trees provide a temporary, albeit non-renewable, food supply to deer. In spite of this potentially short-term positive effect, balsam fir stands are still slowly disappearing from the island. Hoping to encourage their regeneration, a forest management program was established on the island in 1995. To secure the deer's future, it is essential to develop management methods to allow the reestablishment of balsam fir stands or other types of forests that have the characteristics that deer seek out. On a medium term temporal scale, this situation is likely to generate negative effects on the other plant or animal species associated with the fir forests, or even on the overall ecological functions of these forests. In addition, deer hunting is the main economic activity on the island and attracts many amateur hunters with its exceptional quality; it may also be negatively affected.

On April 1^st 2001, the NSERC-Produits forestiers Anticosti Industrial Research Chair was created at Université Laval (Québec, Canada) to address the complex relationships between deer, forest and the exploitation of natural resources on the island by man. The research program is equally funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and by Produits forestiers Anticosti inc. - in charge of the forest management contract. The Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec (MRNF) is also a partner of this program.

The main objective of the Chair's research program is to develop forest and wildlife management methods suited to high deer densities. It includes 4 main themes that cover fundamental and applied research aspects related to sustainable development of forest resources. .

In the first phase of the Chair (2001-2006), 16 different research projects, described below, were conducted. In the actual phase (2006-2011), about 15 new projects will be under study. Four of them will have a distinct funding from a NSERC Collaborative Research and Development grant (CRD).

Theme 1 : Relationships between high deer densities and ecological processes of forest ecosystems

1.1	Vegetation functional responses to different browsing pressures Student(s) involved : Bert Hidding (Postdoctoral fellow)
1.2	Multiple equilibrium and alternative successional pathways in forest ecosystems under heavy browsing pressure by white-tailed deer Student(s) involved : Bert Hidding (Postdoctoral fellow)
1.3	Impacts of the edaphic conditions and chemical composition of seedlings on balsam fir natural regeneration (CRD program) Student(s) involved : Mathieu Dufresne (M. Sc.)
1.4	Impacts of deer density on the plant diversity in the eastern balsam fir-white birch bioclimatic subdomain (CRD program) Student(s) involved : Marianne Bachand (M. Sc.)
1.5	Impacts of white-tailed deer on the abundance and diversity of songbirds and insects (CRD program) Student(s) involved : Étienne Cardinal (M. Sc.); Pierre-Marc Brousseau (M. Sc.)

2.1	Specific habitat use and foraging strategies of the white-tailed deer Student(s) involved : Ariane Massé (Ph. D.); Alexandre Veillette (M. Sc.)
2.2	White-tailed deer adaptations to a coniferous winter diet on Anticosti Island Student(s) involved : Marie-Andrée Giroux (Ph. D.)

Theme 3 : Developing silvicultural strategies applicable in a context of high herbivore densities

3.1	Experimental logging using the seed-patch clear-cutting, the strip clear-cutting and partial cutting (seed cutting of the shelterwood system) methods (CRD program) Student(s) involved : Julien Beguin (M. Sc.)
3.2	Efficiency of balsam fir plantation and natural regeneration after clearcutting (CRD program) Student(s) involved : Julie Faure-Lacroix (M. Sc.)

Theme 4 : Defining and developing integrated tools to manage biological forest resources

4.1	Population dynamics of deer population in the boreal forest: Impacts of density-dependent and -independent limiting factors on the vegetation and life-history traits of white-tailed deer Student(s) involved : Anouk Simard (Ph. D.); Marie-Andrée Giroux (Ph. D.)
4.2	Assessing hunting potential as a management tool to reduce the abundance of local deer population and regenerate balsam fir forests Student(s) involved : Anouk Simard (Ph. D.)
4.3	Development of local deer density indicators based on browsing impacts Student(s) involved : Bert Hidding (Postdoctoral fellow)
4.4	Development of a framework for an adaptive management of the forest resources of Anticosti Island Student(s) involved : Gaëlle Darmon (Postdoctoral fellow)

1.1	Impact of the white-tailed deer on regeneration of muscinal, herbaceous and shrub layers of mature balsam fir stand and peatlands Student(s) involved : Suzie Poirier (Honor's thesis, Université de Moncton); Stéphanie Pellerin (Postdoctoral fellow)
1.2	Impact of the white-tailed deer on rare plants of Anticosti Island Student(s) involved : Ève-Marie Morissette (M. Sc.)
1.3	Impact of the white-tailed deer on animal diversity Student(s) involved :
1.4	Vegetation's response to different browsing pressures, how and when a balance can be reached between browsing and balsam fir forest, and related threshold in balsam fir regeneration Student(s) involved : Jean-Pierre Tremblay (Ph. D.); Vanessa Viera (M. Sc.)

2.1	Habitat use and winter foraging strategies of the white-tailed deer Student(s) involved : Sébastien Lefort (M. Sc.); Daniel Sauvé (M. Sc.); Joëlle Taillon (M. Sc.); Isabel Thibault (Honor's thesis)
2.2	Specific habitat use and summer foraging strategies of the white-tailed deer Student(s) involved : Ariane Massé (Ph. D.); Marie-Lou Coulombe (M. Sc.)

Theme 3 : Developing silvicultural strategies applicable in a context of high herbivore densities

3.1	Experimental clearcuts with protection of regeneration and soils with woody debris Student(s) involved : Christine Casabon (M. Sc.)
3.2	Experimental logging using the seed-tree method and strip cutting Student(s) involved : Julien Beguin (M. Sc.)
3.3	Experimental scarification with different silvicultural interventions Student(s) involved : Julien Beguin (M. Sc.)
3.4	Experimental cultural operations for thinning regeneration Student(s) involved : Julien Beguin (M. Sc.)
3.5	Effect of nitrogen fertilisation on balsam fir growth Student(s) involved :
3.6	Experimental alternative measures to protect regeneration Student(s) involved :

Theme 4 : Defining and developing integrated tools to manage biological forest resources

4.1	Effects of forest structure, forest mosaic, and road networks on hunting results Student(s) involved : Marie-Hélène Rousseau (M. Sc.)
4.2	Biodiversity of river flats on Anticosti, and road network planning Student(s) involved :
4.3	Assessing hunting potential as a management tool to reduce the abundance of local deer population Student(s) involved : Anouk Simard (Ph. D.)
4.4	Effects of historical disruption and edaphic conditions, and development of protective measures Student(s) involved : Martin Barrette (Ph. D.)

Steeve D. Côté (2006-2001)
B. Sc. (Biology, Université Laval), Ph. D. (Evolutionary ecology, Université de Sherbrooke), Post-Doctorate (Population genetics, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, United-Kingdom)

Jean Huot (2001-2006, retired)
B. Sc. (Biology, Université Laval), M. Sc. (Zoology, University of Toronto), Ph. D. (Wildlife management, University of Alaska)

making sure the scientific program is carried out;
managing human resources;
ensuring visibility of the Chair;
informing committees and partners on project progress.

Jean-Pierre Tremblay (assistant professor of the Chair 2006-2011)
B. Sc., M. Sc. et Ph. D. (Biology, Université Laval), Post-Doctorat (Ecology, Norwegian University for Science and Technology in Trondheim)

Steeve D. Côté (co-holder of the Chair 2001-2006)
B. Sc. (Biology, Université Laval), Ph. D. (Evolutionary ecology, Université de Sherbrooke), Post-Doctorate (Population genetics, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, United-Kingdom)

conceiving and carrying out the research projects;
guiding graduate students;
managing human resources.

officials from Université Laval(1);
officials from PFA (1);
officials from the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune (1).

receiving the annual report prepared by the Science Committee and studying the committee's recommendations or proposed changes;
ensuring that all partners' interests are considered under the terms of the project;
making sure every participating organization contributes according to the Chair project;
receiving a detailed expense report for the past year and approving the estimated costs for the coming year;
identifying certain results of potential commercial interest and defining marketing strategies for these results;
dealing with various conflicts that could occur within the Science Committee and proposing solutions.

officials from Université Laval (2, including the Chair holder);
graduate students representative (1);
PFA representative (1);
officials from the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune (Wildlife Service [1], Forest Service [1], Forest Research Service [1]).

Evaluating project proposals according to the research program;
organizing the annual activities plan;
organizing annual symposiums;
organizing integration workshops for inhabitants and primary users of Anticosti;
preparing the annual report of research activities for the steering committee;
submitting to the steering committee any changes or conflicts that could occur during the project.