MOOSE-SNOWSHOE HARE COMPETITION DURING PEAK HARE DENSITIES
Browsing intensity by moose (Alces alces) and snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) was measured in several habitat types during the peak and declining phases of the hare cycle to determine the degree of food and spatial overlap. During low population densities, hares remained in closed-canopy forest co...
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Lakehead University
1980
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| Online Access: | http://alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/1651 |
| Summary: | Browsing intensity by moose (Alces alces) and snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) was measured in several habitat types during the peak and declining phases of the hare cycle to determine the degree of food and spatial overlap. During low population densities, hares remained in closed-canopy forest consisting of dense black spruce or willow-alder thickets, whereas moose foraged primarily in the more open early seral communities less than 20 years old. During the winters of high hare densities from 1970 to 1973, hares invaded the more open stands and consumed up to 100% of the available browse. |
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