Moose Alces alces habitat use at multiple temporal scales in a human-altered landscape

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Boom and bust of a moose population – a call for integrated forest management

This is the postprint version of the article. The published article can be located at www.springerlink.comThere is increasing pressure to manage forests for multiple objectives, including ecosystem services and biodiversity, alongside timber production. However, few forests are currently co-managed for timber and wildlife, despite potential economic and conservation benefits. We present empirical data from a commercial Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) and Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ) production system in southern Norway in which moose ( Alces alces ) are an important secondary product. Combining long-term hunting and forestry records, we identified temporal vari- ation in clear-felling over the past five decades, peaking in the 1970s. Herbicide treatment of regenerating stands and a fivefold increase in moose harvest has lead to a reduction in availability of successional forest per moose of [ 90 % since the 1960s. Field estimates showed that spraying with the herbicide glyphosate reduced forage availability by 60 and 96 % in summer and winter, respectively, 4 years after treatment. It also reduced moose use and habitat selection of young spruce stands compared with unsprayed stands. Together these lines of evidence suggest that forest man- agement led to an increase in moose carrying capacity during the 1970s and a subsequent decline thereafter. This is likely to have contributed to observed reductions in moose population productivity in southern Norway and is counter to sustainable resource management. We therefore call for better integration and long-term planning between forestry and wildlife management to minimise forest damage and the development of large fluctuations in ungulate populations

Habitat quality influences population distribution, individual space use and functional responses in habitat selection by a large herbivore

Identifying factors shaping variation in resource selection is central for our understanding of the behaviour and distribution of animals. We examined summer habitat selection and space use by 108 Global Positioning System (GPS)-collared moose in Norway in relation to sex, reproductive status, habitat quality, and availability. Moose selected habitat types based on a combination of forage quality and availability of suitable habitat types. Selection of protective cover was strongest for reproducing females, likely reflecting the need to protect young. Males showed strong selection for habitat types with high quality forage, possibly due to higher energy requirements. Selection for preferred habitat types providing food and cover was a positive function of their availability within home ranges (i.e. not proportional use) indicating functional response in habitat selection. This relationship was not found for unproductive habitat types. Moreover, home ranges with high cover of unproductive habitat types were larger, and smaller home ranges contained higher proportions of the most preferred habitat type. The distribution of moose within the study area was partly related to the distribution of different habitat types. Our study shows how distribution and availability of habitat types providing cover and high-quality food shape ungulate habitat selection and space use

Plant constituents affecting food selection by sika deer

We directly observed the feeding behaviors of Yaku sika deer (Cervus nippon yakushimae), the smallest subspecies of Japanese sika deer, by following 6 wild, habituated, and individually identifiable animals in a natural warm-temperate forest on the island of Yakushima, southern Japan, 2005-2006. Deer fed on various plant species and parts but predominantly on the fallen leaves, fruits, seeds, and flowers of woody plants (similar to 82% of food items) at 59 natural feeding plots. We analyzed 8 key plant constituents of eaten and uneaten items at the feeding plots, and examined the effects of each constituent on food selection by multivariate and univariate generalized linear mixed models. The multivariate analysis, which evaluated the effect of each plant constituent on food selection by controlling influences of the other constituents in the food items, showed that deer selected food items with higher contents of crude fat, crude protein, and total phenolics but with lower contents of lignin and condensed tannin from the available items at the feeding plots. Neither soluble nor structural carbohydrate, nor ash content affected selection of food items. It may be advantageous for these small ungulates with shorter gastrointestinal tracts to select foods that are relatively rich in fat because of the higher energy content of fat compared with carbohydrates. Furthermore, it appears that non-tannin phenolics may have beneficial functions in this species. The univariate analyses showed different effects of crude protein and structural carbohydrate on food selection compared to those derived from the multivariate analysis. We demonstrate that accounting for influences of other plant constituents by using multivariate analyses is important to ensure that any effects of individual plant constituents are not overlooked or overstated. (c) 2018 The Wildlife Society