Range Constraints for Introduced Elk in Southwest Yukon, Canada

被引:0
作者
Strong, Wayne L. [1 ]
Chambers, Jesse H. S. [2 ]
Jung, Thomas S. [3 ]
机构
[1] Arctic Inst North Amer, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
[2] Univ Calgary, Fac Environm Design, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
[3] Yukon Dept Environm, Whitehorse, YT Y1A 2C6, Canada
关键词
boreal forest; Cervus; ecology; elk; forage; habitat; introduction; parkland; range; Yukon; CERVUS-ELAPHUS; HABITAT; UNGULATE; DEER; TRANSLOCATION; COLONIZATION; PREDATION; DYNAMICS; DROUGHT; SUCCESS;
D O I
暂无
中图分类号
X [环境科学、安全科学];
学科分类号
08 ; 0830 ;
摘要
Forage availability, snow depths, and winter temperatures were assessed to determine if they might impose range constraints on introduced elk (Cervus elaphus) that voluntarily colonized a 95 km(2) area of southwest Yukon (Canada) in 1959. Parkland-like vegetation of stunted aspen (Populus tremuloides) and nonforest upland plant communities, which is atypical vegetation for a boreal forest environment, composed 30% of the colonized area. About 95% of the area produced less than 300 kg/ha of forage, which represents poor productivity compared to more southern elk ranges. In the remaining 5%, indigenous graminoid communities produced (average +/- SD) 408 +/- 131 kg/ha of forage, exceeded only by nonindigenous roadside vegetation with 652 115 kg/ha. Data from radio-collared animals indicated that most elk occurrences (38% year-round) were associated with parkland-like vegetation, and fecal pellet groups were six times as frequent in indigenous graminoid vegetation as in forest vegetation. Late February 2011 snow depths of 41 +/- 7 cm, during a year with a below-normal snowfall, suggested a potential for reduced winter access to forage. Meteorological data from 1981-2010 indicate that one-third of winter daily minima in the study area were likely lower than -20 degrees C, a threshold below which the metabolism of an elk calf must increase to maintain its body temperature. Each-assessed habitat variable was unfavorable to elk compared with other western North American winter ranges, which may have limited the development of a more robust population in the southwestern Yukon.
引用
收藏
页码:470 / 482
页数:13
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