Overlap in winter diets of sympatric moose and white-tailed deer in Maine
-
-
Authors: H. A. Ludewig, and R. T. Bowyer
Date: 1985
Journal: Journal of Mammalogy
Volume: 66
Number: 2
Pages: 390-392
Summary of Methods: The amount of overlap of winter diets of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and sympatric moose (Alces alces) was analyzed in Baxter State Park, Piscataquis Co., Maine (45˚ 50’ N, 68˚ 54’ W). The vegetation dominant in the study area was softwood-hardwood mix balsam fir (Abies balsamea). Thirty fecal groups each for moose and white-tailed deer were collected from January-March 1984 in an area where both herbivores were found. Feces were oven dried and fragments were spread over a microscope slide to identify the plants consumed.
Article Summary / Main Points: Eleven species were detected in moose feces and 13 species were detected in white-tailed deer feces during winter. Seven species of trees and shrubs were common to the diets of both herbivores. Overlap in winter diets of moose and white-tailed deer was 41.2%. Moose consumed 72.9% and white-tailed deer 55.1% conifers. When comparing all food items in diets of both herbivores, the only differences were that moose consumed more balsam fir and deer consumed more white spruce.
Vegetation Types: Other (includes Forest and Eastern)
MLRA Ecoregions: 143 Northeastern Mountains
Agrovoc Control Words: Softwood-hardwood mix Grazing Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: alces alces, odocoileus virginianus, browse, white spruce, picea glauca, balsam fir, abies balsamea
Annotation: The results of this study are applicable to forests and shrublands where moose and white-tailed deer winter. As this is a wildlife study the widespread direct applicability of the findings of this study to most rangeland grazing managers is limited but the theories can be used for instances when livestock manages have wildlife whose seasonal diets overlap with the class of livestock being grazed.
-
Get article
Cite article with DOI
-