Alces (A Journal Devoted to the Biology and Management of Moose)
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BOTTOM-UP AND TOP-DOWN FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO REVERSING A MOOSE POPULATION INCREASE IN NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
No full textNewcomers to the state, moose increased in abundance and distribution throughout northeastern Washington from the 1970s through 2013 when we began a study of moose demography north of Spokane, Washington. The study was designed and analyzed with 2 adjacent but geographically distinct population subunits – a northern study area with wolf (Canis lupus) packs present and a southern study area without wolf packs. We followed the fates of 67 GPS-collared cow moose (41 and 26 in the northern and southern study areas, respectively), and monitored production and apparent survival of their (unmarked) calves using ground-based approaches during 2014–2018. We used the Cormack-Jolly-Seber estimator to account for imperfect detection of calves monitored via their mothers, and AICc to evaluate competing models of calf survival. We supplemented these analyses with indices of calf recruitment to mid-winter obtained from helicopter-based surveys over a larger survey area. The best supported calf survival model included neither study area nor temporal covariates; estimated annual calf survival in both study areas combined was 0.36 (SE = 0.05). Adult survival rates were similar in the 2 study areas (0.80 overall; 95% confidence interval 0.76–0.86) but causes of death differed. Estimated observed fecundity (calves/females in early summer) was 0.56 in the northern study area and 0.70 in the southern; pregnancy rates showed a similar trend (0.70 northern, 0.93 southern). Populations in both study areas were declining; λ was estimated as 0.87 (SE = 0.03) in the northern study area and 0.90 (SE = 0.03) in the southern. Body condition data indicated moose from both study areas entered winter with low energy reserves, increasing susceptibility to morbidity and mortality. We found multiple factors acting on the northern population including equal rates of wolf predation and winter tick mortality of adults and low marrow fat in many tick- and predation-related mortalities. We suggest the marked population decline measured during the study was related to multiple and often interacting factors including the combined and often interacting top-down effects of predation and bottom-up effects of nutrition
SEASON OF DETACHMENT OF WINTER TICKS (DERMACENTOR ALBIPICTUS) FROM SOUTHERN ONTARIO MOOSE (ALCES ALCES)
No full textDetachment of engorged female winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) from captive moose (Alces alces) was studied in Ontario during March and April, 1981–1984. The earliest detached engorged female was observed on 15 March, and for 9 of 15 moose, on 25–26 March. Detachment increased in early to mid-April with most adult ticks remaining on captive moose in late April. Few ticks were observed on wild cow moose by mid- to late May, 1981–1984, and detachment was considered complete in late May. More ticks dropped from moose at night than during daylight hours. The primary period of detachment was considered mid-April to mid-May during all 4 years of the study. Prediction of relative infestation the following autumn may be possible by considering the drop-off time and ground conditions that influence survival of gravid adult female ticks
CHEMICAL IMMOBILIZATION OF MOOSE AT THE MOOSE RESEARCH CENTER, ALASKA (1968-1981)
No full textData from chemical immobilization of Alaskan moose (Alces alces) from 1968 through 1981 at the Moose Research Center was compiled and assessed. Immobilizing drugs tested during that period were succinylcholine chloride, CI 744, xylazine hydrochloride and etorphine hydrochloride. Other adjunct and reversing drugs were discussed. From 1968 to 1975 succinyl choline chloride was the routine drug used for immobilization at the Moose Research Center with 1258 moose darted and 908 immobilized. Mean induction time was 8.5 minutes and mean time immobilized was 25.7 minutes. Hyaluronidase added to succinylcholine chloride decreased induction time by 33% with no increase in mortality. Mortality rate for succinylcholine chloride was 5.5% of moose immobilized, however only 72.2% of moose darted were immobilized. Etorphine hydrochloride became the routine immobilizing drug in 1975 and is used routinely. To date 138 moose and 98 calves and yearlings have been immobilized. Mean induction time for etorphine was 11.4 minutes, and time immobilized was dependent upon time of antagonist injection. The mortality rate using etorphine on adults was 8.7%, but nearly all moose darted went down but many required supplemental doses. The mortality rates were inflated because these figures include data from early experimental work with the drugs. Familiarization with the drugs and the conditions for their use has decreased mortality significantly. Etorphine with xylazine is the drug combination presently preferred, but it is far from the ideal drug as presently available. The conclusion is that the ideal drug or drug combination to immobilize moose has not been found
EVIDENCE OF SUMMER NUTRITIONAL LIMITATIONS IN A NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON MOOSE POPULATION
No full textUnderstanding the role of summer-autumn nutrition is critically important as moose (Alces alces) populations decline along their southern range in North America because it influences dynamics through performance and susceptibility to predation, disease, and parasitism. To assess nutritional limitations during summer-autumn, we estimated body fat and protein reserves (n = 61), pregnancy rate (n = 71), and lactation status (n = 59) of adult female moose in northeastern Washington State in December 2013, 2014, and 2016. Adult pregnancy rate was depressed (79%) and correlated with loin muscle thickness, and 14% of adult moose had evidence of delayed conception. Adult moose, particularly those that had successfully raised a calf, entered winter with low energy stores. Lactating moose were thinner than non-lactating moose and overall, 79% of moose sampled had < 9% body fat, indicating at least moderate nutritional limitations linked to performance and survival. Body fat was positively related to subsequent survival, and marrow fat levels indicative of starvation or severe nutritional stress were found in 56% of femurs (10 of 18) collected. Combined, these data highlight the importance of accounting for reproductive history when interpreting nutritional condition data and the importance of sampling moose populations in autumn when interpreting the influence of seasonal habitats on subsequent productivity and mortality
REVISITING THE RECRUITMENT-MORTALITY EQUATION TO ASSESS MOOSE GROWTH RATES
No full textHatter and Bergerud (1991) developed a recruitment-mortality (R-M) equation to estimate the annual finite rate of change (λ) in a moose (Alces alces) population from a single estimate of calf recruitment and adult mortality. I present and assess an alternative formulation of the R-M equation and compare it with the original. A modification to the R-M equations is provided to accommodate early to mid-winter composition surveys where recruitment is measured when calves are less than 1 year-of-age. An example with the modified R-M equation illustrates estimation of λ for the female component of two moose populations under recent study in British Columbia, Canada. Due to potential biases with estimating recruitment and mortality rates, the calculation of λ with the R-M equation should be verified with periodic density surveys whenever possible. The R-M equation is most useful for estimating λ when moose density surveys are not feasible or an estimate of the adult survival rate is available
TRACKING MOOSE- AND DEER-VEHICLE COLLISIONS USING GPS AND LANDMARK INVENTORY SYSTEMS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
No full textVehicle collisions with moose (Alces alces) and deer (Odocoileus spp.) pose a serious threat to all motorists travelling highways traversing habitats of these two ungulates. In British Columbia, mitigation measures to reduce such collisions are based on spatially-accurate records of collisions involving moose and deer that are collected by the province’s highway maintenance contractors. To date, the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (BC MOTI) uses the paper-based Wildlife Accident Reporting System (WARS) established in 1978 to maintain carcass records. We compared carcass location data collected in 2010 to 2014 by BC MOTI using WARS to that collected by Northern Health Connections bus drivers using a newly developed GPS-based system (Otto® Wildlife device). In total, 6,929 carcasses (1,231 moose, 5,698 deer) were recorded using WARS and 474 (167 moose, 410 deer) using the Otto® Wildlife device. We compared data collected along 2,800 km on the same highways in the same seasons of the same years. We found more carcass locations were identified with the WARS method, but that in certain geographic regions, the Otto® Wildlife system identified several unique locations. We contend that more complete and finer-scale carcass location data is possible using a GPS-based system such as Otto® Wildlife, than currently collected solely with the paper-based WARS method
DISTINGUISHED MOOSE BIOLOGIST - AWARD CRITERIA
No full textDISTINGUISHED MOOSE BIOLOGIST - AWARD CRITERI
DISTINGUISHED MOOSE BIOLOGIST - 2019 RECIPIENT (Lee Kantar)
No full textDISTINGUISHED MOOSE BIOLOGIST - 2019 RECIPIENT (Lee Kantar