Habitat and forage selection of moose in the aspen-dominated boreal forest, central Alberta

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Hudson, R.J.
  • Renecker, L.A.

• Forage and habitat selection of tame moose (Alces alces) in a 65 ha enclosure were studied for an annual cycle. Although the staple winter foods were woody twigs, moose consumed large amounts of leaf litter and bark under some environmental conditions. Foliage dominated the diet following leaf flush in May. Selectivity of moose for plants high in cell solubles was most pronounced during autumn. Moose used a variety of habitats throughout the year. Although relative use varied with foraging returns on an annual basis, habitat choice during late spring and summer because two-fold: to maximize the intake of foods high in cell solubles, and to mitigate thermal imbalances and insect annoyance.

• Date created

  1992

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Habitat
  • Forage
  • Boreal forests
  • Moose
  • Canada, Alberta

• Type of Item

  Conference/Workshop Presentation

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3X580

• License

  Attribution 3.0 International