Association of moose parturition and post-parturition habitat with calf survival

William J. Severud, Glenn D. DelGiudice, Tyler R. Obermoller

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Habitat use during calving and the energetically demanding post-parturition period can be an important determinant of neonatal survival. The moose (Alces alces) population in northeastern Minnesota, USA declined 65% from 2006 to 2018. During 2013–2015, annual survival of calves was estimated as low as 28%. We remotely monitored global positioning system (GPS)-collared adult female moose and their neonates during the calving and post-parturition seasons to examine calving movements, birth-sites, habitat use, survival, and cause-specific mortality of neonates. Identifying the association of specific landscape characteristics with neonate survival should yield insight into mechanisms contributing to the declining moose population and serve as a basis for an ecologically sound management response. We compared habitat characteristics of pre-calving, calving, peak-lactation, and mortality sites at a fine and broad scale. We also compared calving sites of females that successfully reared a calf to winter to those that did not. In general, females tended to move to areas of more conifer cover to calve. During peak-lactation, females and their calves used steeper areas with abundant forage and high concealment but less conifer cover. Mortalities occurred at sites that were more level than other site types. Females that successfully reared a calf to 1 February typically calved in areas with more deciduous forest and less forested wetland cover than females whose calves died before 9 months of age. Habitat improvement projects for moose should consider forage requirements and placement on the landscape in relation to cover and slope.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)175-183
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Wildlife Management
Volume83
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank the many field technicians and volunteers that assisted with this study; K. J. Foshay, L. M. Ross, B. D. Smith, R. J. Ryan, L. N. Warner, and C. D. Montgomery were instrumental to data collection. We also thank R. G. Wright, M. Carstensen, E. C. Hildebrand, M. H. Dexter, D. C. Pauly, C. S. Jennelle, E. A. Butler, J. H. Giudice, V. St-Louis, D. M. Plattner, N. F. Hanson, D. K. Ingebritsen, M. A. Larson, and L. J. Cornicelli for support. T. W. Arnold, J. R. Fieberg, J. D. Forester, and L. D. Mech improved earlier versions of this manuscript. Special thanks to K. J. Vitense for statistical consultation. This study was funded in part by the Minnesota Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), the Wildlife Restoration (Pittman-Robertson) Program, and MNDNR Section of Wildlife’s Wildlife Populations and Research Unit. WJS was also supported by the Albert W. Franzmann and Distinguished Colleagues Memorial Award, the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, and University of Minnesota’s Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. We also thank K. Proffitt, P. Krausman, and 2 anonymous reviewers for constructive comments that improved the manuscript.

Funding Information:
We thank the many field technicians and volunteers that assisted with this study; K. J. Foshay, L. M. Ross, B. D. Smith, R. J. Ryan, L. N. Warner, and C. D. Montgomery were instrumental to data collection. We also thank R. G. Wright, M. Carstensen, E. C. Hildebrand, M. H. Dexter, D. C. Pauly, C. S. Jennelle, E. A. Butler, J. H. Giudice, V. St-Louis, D. M. Plattner, N. F. Hanson, D. K. Ingebritsen, M. A. Larson, and L. J. Cornicelli for support. T. W. Arnold, J. R. Fieberg, J. D. Forester, and L. D. Mech improved earlier versions of this manuscript. Special thanks to K. J. Vitense for statistical consultation. This study was funded in part by the Minnesota Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), the Wildlife Restoration (Pittman-Robertson) Program, and MNDNR Section of Wildlife's Wildlife Populations and Research Unit. WJS was also supported by the Albert W. Franzmann and Distinguished Colleagues Memorial Award, the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, and University of Minnesota's Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. We also thank K. Proffitt, P. Krausman, and 2 anonymous reviewers for constructive comments that improved the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Wildlife Society, 2018

Keywords

  • Alces alces
  • calf
  • calving site
  • habitat use
  • lactation
  • Minnesota
  • moose
  • survival

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