Colonization history and taxonomy of moose Alces alces in southeastern Alaska inferred from mtDNA variation

Abstract

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Ecological factors drive differentiation in wolves from British Columbia

“…, 2003; lichen Lobaria pulmonaria , Walser et al. , 2005; moose Alces alces , Hundertmark et al. , 2006; lodgepole pine Pinus contorta , Godbout et al.…”

Climate change vulnerability assessment for the Chugach National Forest and the Kenai Peninsula

“…Moose have been present in Alaska since mid-to late-Pleistocene times (11,000-14,000 years BP) (Hundertmark et al 2003(Hundertmark et al , 2006. They likely survived in relatively small disjunct groups wherever suitable habitat could be found throughout this period, when a tundra-steppe community dominated much of Alaska refugia (LeResche et al 1974).…”

“…With the close of the glacial period and proliferation of shrub and forest communities, moose spread via river valleys throughout 90 percent of contemporary Alaska (LeResche et al 1974. Very recent extensions of moose distribution have occurred in the geographic extremes of Alaska; most relevantly in southeast Alaska, where glacial recessions have allowed moose to colonize coastal forests (Darimont et al 2005, Hundertmark et al 2006, Klein 1965, LeResche et al 1974 as well as by deliberate translocations to the Copper River Delta near Cordova (Paul 2009). LeResche et al (1974) concluded that, in most of Alaska, moose numbers have varied dramatically in local areas over the past two centuries, largely in response to fire and subsequent forest succession.…”

“…Moose are most abundant on the western Kenai Peninsula, where a drier climate and an active fire regime produce hardwood browse and less snow, which are critical and interacting components for overwinter survival (Peek 1998 although Hundertmark et al (2006) suggested that the dividing line is further south (58° 45′ N). The extant population on the Copper River Delta (and Berners Bay) (Klein 1965) was established by a series of calf transplants between 1948 and 1958 from the Kenai Peninsula (Burris 1965, Paul 2009 and so belong to the Alaska-Yukon race (Hundertmark et al 2006 On the Kenai Peninsula, moose population fluctuations have been historically linked to fires and winter browse availability (Franzmann and Schwartz 1998, Loranger et al 1991, Oldemeyer et al 1977, Spencer and Hakala 1964. Moose populations typically peak 15 to 25 years post-fire (Loranger et al 1991, Spencer andHakala 1964), but fires must be severe enough that mineral soil is exposed to get maximum regeneration of hardwood browse (Miner 2000).…”

“…Moose (Alces alces gigas) (Bubenik 1997, Hundertmark et al 2006, caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) (Bergerud 1978), and Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) (Wallmo 1978) are three ungulate species that will be affected…”