Evidence of Arboreal Lichen Use in Peatlands by White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, in Northeastern Alberta

Within the past 10 to 15 years, White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have extended their geographical range to include most of northern Alberta. In the boreal forest they are most abundant in well-drained upland habitat. We report the occurrence of unusually large numbers of deer seen in a lar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Canadian Field-Naturalist
Main Authors: Latham, A. David M., Boutin, Stan
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 2008
Subjects:
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
arboreal lichen
peatlands
range expansion
northeastern Alberta
Athabasca River
Caribou Range
Rangifer tarandus
Online Access:https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/604
https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v122i3.604
Description
Summary:Within the past 10 to 15 years, White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have extended their geographical range to include most of northern Alberta. In the boreal forest they are most abundant in well-drained upland habitat. We report the occurrence of unusually large numbers of deer seen in a large fen complex in the west side of the Athabasca River Caribou range in northeastern Alberta. Further, we report an observation that suggests that deer may be using arboreal lichen (old man’s beard; Bryoria spp. and Usnea spp.) as a winter food in this region. We discuss the potential ecological ramifications of this observation for Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern Alberta.

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