Date ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCES ON POPULATION DYNAMICS

• Main Author: Jennifer Irene Schmidt
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2007
• Subjects: Alces alces; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.505.1130; http://www.uaf.edu/rap/students/Alumni/Schmidt-Dissertation-2007.pdf

iii I examined social and ecological influences on moose (Alces alces gigas) in Alaska, USA, with respect to hunting success, antler size, and population genetic structure. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) is frequently used to assess hunter success; thus I hypothesized that landscape characteristics and moose density would affect success. Using hunter harvest tickets returned to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, I modeled CPUE with Weibull regression. I determined success is significantly predicted by hunt location, mode of transportation, hunting regulations, use of commercial services (i.e., guides), year, road density, hunter-to-moose ratio, moose density, and hunter residency status. Antler size is an important factor for hunters and for mating potential in male moose. I hypothesized that moose density, habitat, and use of guides would correlate with antler size of harvested moose. I also predicted that guides would harvest moose with larger antlers and avoid areas where the hunter-to-moose ratio is high compared to nonguided hunters. Results indicated that antler size decreases with