Diet similarity between elk and deer in Utah
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Authors: K. J. Mower, and H. D. Smith
Date: 1989
Journal: Great Basin Naturalist
Volume: 49
Number: 4
Pages: 552-555
Summary of Methods: Mower and Smith looked at the diet similarity of elk and mule deer in northcentral Utah. Elk and mule deer had a 71% diet similarity with little separation in type of forage selected. Two reasons for the high diet overlap on the winter range was that vegetative diversity was low and the availability of forbs and grasses was reduced in winter by plant dormancy and snow cover. The elk seemed to displace the mule deer by high-lining available browse to a point where deer could no longer reach, as well as their ability to eat shrub and tree leaders with larger diameters, leaving deer with terminals too large to eat. Mower and Smith urged for less human disturbance, during times of winter stress, and proper management throughout the year to ease the amount of competition between deer and elk.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: competition, diet composition, forage availability, human disturbance
Annotation: None
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