Aversive conditioning on horse back: A management alternative for grassland systems threatened by sedentary elk populations

• Author / Creator

  Spaedtke, Holger Ronald

• Loss of migratory behaviour in ungulates has been observed worldwide
  and invites new tools for managing the habitat degradation that results from these
  sedentary populations. We assessed use of aversive conditioning on horseback as
  a means of reducing grazing pressure and restoring migratory behaviour in elk
  (Cervus elaphus) at the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch, which is an important wintering
  range. We conditioned elk by herding them daily in the direction of their historic
  migratory route and monitored changes in elk distribution and grassland biomass
  each year. After three summers of aversive conditioning treatments, summer elk
  presence on the targeted grassland had declined substantially and grassland
  biomass had increased. Although elk use shifted in the desired direction, we did
  not detect any longer-distance migration in targeted elk. Our research suggests
  that aversive conditioning on horseback can temporarily reduce grazing pressure
  on threatened grasslands, but is unlikely to change migratory behaviour.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Aversive conditioning
  • Management
  • Cervus Elaphus
  • Sedentary elk populations

• Graduation date

  Fall 2009

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3H92C

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.