India, April 10 -- If lichen continues to decline across the Arctic, caribou populations could struggle to survive the winter, according to a study by researchers at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in the United States.

Chloe Beaupre and Elie Gurarie examined the relationship between winter forage, snow conditions, and caribou survival in their study titled Winter survival shaped by forage abundance and snow depth for a long-distance migratory ungulate, according to a statement.

Caribou (called reindeer in Eurasia) are one of the few animals that can eat and digest lichen (also called 'reindeer moss'). In winter, when other foods are scarce, caribou rely almost entirely on this resource. To...