Winter foods of moose in La Vérendrye Park, Québec: an evaluation of two browse survey methods
The winter foods of moose (Alces alces) were determined in three winter yards in representative mixed forests of western Quebec. Browse use was measured by estimation of browse units and by twig counts. The first method enabled identification of key species in the diet while the second gave, in weig...
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Canadian Science Publishing
1976
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z76-205 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z76-205 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z76-205 2023-12-17T10:18:02+01:00 Winter foods of moose in La Vérendrye Park, Québec: an evaluation of two browse survey methods Joyal, Robert 1976 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z76-205 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z76-205 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 54, issue 10, page 1765-1770 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1976 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z76-205 2023-11-19T13:39:19Z The winter foods of moose (Alces alces) were determined in three winter yards in representative mixed forests of western Quebec. Browse use was measured by estimation of browse units and by twig counts. The first method enabled identification of key species in the diet while the second gave, in weight, the proportion of each. Both methods are compared. A total of 21 species offered available food, but only 12 were browsed. More than 75% of the diet in dry weight came from mountain maple (Acer spicatum), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), and willows (Salix spp.), with 53, 13, and 9.5% respectively. The mean weight of browsed twigs of different species varied. widely. Balsam fir twigs weighed about seven times more than white birch (Betula papyrifera) and 10 times more than beaked hazel twigs (Corylus cornuta). Moose preferred willows and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), which showed the highest availability:utilization ratio. Mountain maple was eaten proportionally to its availability. Results can be used in carrying-capacity studies in other mixed stands of eastern Canada. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Canada Canadian Journal of Zoology 54 10 1765 1770 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Joyal, Robert Winter foods of moose in La Vérendrye Park, Québec: an evaluation of two browse survey methods |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
The winter foods of moose (Alces alces) were determined in three winter yards in representative mixed forests of western Quebec. Browse use was measured by estimation of browse units and by twig counts. The first method enabled identification of key species in the diet while the second gave, in weight, the proportion of each. Both methods are compared. A total of 21 species offered available food, but only 12 were browsed. More than 75% of the diet in dry weight came from mountain maple (Acer spicatum), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), and willows (Salix spp.), with 53, 13, and 9.5% respectively. The mean weight of browsed twigs of different species varied. widely. Balsam fir twigs weighed about seven times more than white birch (Betula papyrifera) and 10 times more than beaked hazel twigs (Corylus cornuta). Moose preferred willows and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), which showed the highest availability:utilization ratio. Mountain maple was eaten proportionally to its availability. Results can be used in carrying-capacity studies in other mixed stands of eastern Canada. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Joyal, Robert |
author_facet |
Joyal, Robert |
author_sort |
Joyal, Robert |
title |
Winter foods of moose in La Vérendrye Park, Québec: an evaluation of two browse survey methods |
title_short |
Winter foods of moose in La Vérendrye Park, Québec: an evaluation of two browse survey methods |
title_full |
Winter foods of moose in La Vérendrye Park, Québec: an evaluation of two browse survey methods |
title_fullStr |
Winter foods of moose in La Vérendrye Park, Québec: an evaluation of two browse survey methods |
title_full_unstemmed |
Winter foods of moose in La Vérendrye Park, Québec: an evaluation of two browse survey methods |
title_sort |
winter foods of moose in la vérendrye park, québec: an evaluation of two browse survey methods |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1976 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z76-205 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z76-205 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Alces alces |
genre_facet |
Alces alces |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 54, issue 10, page 1765-1770 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z76-205 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
54 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
1765 |
op_container_end_page |
1770 |
_version_ |
1785537683162923008 |