Distribution and density of moose in relation to landscape characteristics: Effects of scale
Abstract: We analyzed the relation between early winter distribution and density of female moose (Alces alces L.) and habitat heterogeneity in interior Alaska. We tested for effects of vegetation type, topography, distance to rivers and towns, occurrence and timing of fire, and landscape metrics. A...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2005
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.559.5862 http://www.altamontsrc.org/alt_doc/r39_distribution_moose.pdf |
| Summary: | Abstract: We analyzed the relation between early winter distribution and density of female moose (Alces alces L.) and habitat heterogeneity in interior Alaska. We tested for effects of vegetation type, topography, distance to rivers and towns, occurrence and timing of fire, and landscape metrics. A spatial linear model was used to analyze effects of in-dependent variables organized at multiple scales. Because densities of moose vary widely as a result of differences in management and other factors, a spatial response surface of the log of moose density was fit to remove large-scale ef-fects. The analysis revealed that the densest populations of moose occurred closer to towns, at moderate elevations, near rivers, and in areas where fire occurred between 11 and 30 years ago. Furthermore, moose tended to occur in ar-eas with large compact patches of varied habitat and avoided variable terrain and nonvegetated areas. Relationships of most variables with moose density occurred at or below 34 km2, suggesting that moose respond to environmental vari-ables within a few kilometres of their location. The spatial model of density of moose developed in this study repre-sents an important application for effective monitoring and management of moose in the boreal forest. Résumé: Les auteurs ont analysé les relations entre la répartition et la densité de femelles d’orignal (Alces alces L.) en début d’hiver et l’hétérogénéité de l’habitat en Alaska continentale. Ils ont évalué les effets du type de végétation, de la topographie, de la distance par rapport aux rivières et aux villes, de l’occurrence et de l’année des feux et des métriques du paysage. Un modèle linéaire à contrainte spatiale fut utilisé pour analyser les effets des variables indépen- |
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