Diets of the Slave River Lowland Bison Herd, Northwest Territories, Canada

Reynolds, H. W.; Hansen, Richard M.; Peden, D.

doi:10.2307/3800821

Cited by 56 publications

(43 citation statements)

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“…and rushes (Juncus spp. ), similar to that reported in lowland boreal regions (Reynolds et al 1978;Campbell and Hinkes 1983;Larter and Gates 1991). However, in this study, winter diets of bison were more diverse than those studied in lowland landscapes, with less of a reliance on sedges and rushes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…While some information is available on seasonal diets of wood bison from parts of their northern range, there is little information on their food habits from other ecological regions. For example, two studies reported on seasonal diets of wood bison in lowland boreal regions (Reynolds et al 1978;Larter and Gates 1991). Both of these studies reported that wood bison diets were diverse, but dominated by graminoids, particularly sedges, rushes, and grasses, with a particular reliance on sedges in winter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Their range is topographically diverse, with a complex mix of vegetation communities, but contains relatively few wet sedge meadows, a preferred foraging habitat for bison in lowland boreal regions (Reynolds et al 1978;Campbell and Hinkes 1983;Larter and Gates 1991). Fischer and Gates (2005) examined the relative proportion of 7 forage classes in the winter diets of wood bison from this population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Winter diets of reintroduced bison (Bison bison) in northwestern Canada

Jung

2015

Mamm Res

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I examined the winter diets of a reintroduced population of bison (Bison bison) in a mountainous region of northwestern Canada. The impetus of this study was to examine the winter diets of bison in this ecological region and to test for sexual and seasonal variation in the winter diet. Microhistological analyses of fecal samples from animals of known sex-and age-classes were examined to determine winter diets. I evaluated the hypothesis that sexual segregation in bison may be due to differences in diet. In addition, diet composition between early and late winter was examined to test for seasonal differences. Overall, bison winter diets were diverse, including at least 31 genera of vascular plants, but dominated by sedges (Carex). Nine species of Carex were identified in the winter diet. Diets of adult males in early winter differed in percentages of 7 forage classes used from those in late winter. The proportion of shrubs increased in latewinter diets, while that of sedges decreased. No evidence was found to support hypotheses of sexual segregation in bison based on differences in diet, at least for this population during late winter. This study shows that bison diets in winter are more diverse than previously thought based on studies in lowland boreal environments, where dietary niche breadth was comparatively narrow. Dietary flexibility is important within the context of choosing new sites for reintroducing bison, or predicting colonization of vacant habitats as existing populations grow.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Winter diets of reintroduced bison (Bison bison) in northwestern Canada

Jung

2015

Mamm Res

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“…During summer and winter, Carex atherodes held the highest rank in terms of plant selection by bison, and it predominated in their diet, consistent with bison diets elsewhere (Reynolds et al 1978;Larter and Gates 1991;Bergman 2000) and expectations from foraging theory (Fortin et al 2002). Here we showed that energy maximization principles can successfully predict resource use, but predictive ability varies with spatial and temporal scales of investigation.…”

Section: Plant Selectionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Foraging ecology of bison at the landscape and plant community levels: the applicability of energy maximization principles

et al. 2002

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Predictions of animal distribution and resource use require multi-scale consideration because animals can use different sets of selection criteria at different scales. We investigated whether patterns of distribution and resource use by free-ranging bison (Bison bison) in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan, follow rules of energy maximization that hold across multiple scales. Optimality theory predicts specialization on Carex atherodes and frequency-independent selection among plant species; that is, local variation in C. atherodes biomass should not influence diet choice but only the time spent in individual patches. The summer use of resources within meadows was closely related to energy maximization principles. C. atherodes dominated the diet of bison, was selected in all meadows, and diet choice was frequency-independent among meadows in the bison range. In winter, diet was still dominated by C. atherodes, but frequency-dependent selection of Scolochloa festucacea and the relative use of Cirsium arvense were inconsistent with theoretical predictions. At a larger spatial scale, however, the probability of meadow use was not positively related to the abundance of Carex atherodes. During summer and winter, general landscape features within the daily radius of bison (2 km in summer and 1.3 km in winter), together with abiotic characteristics of meadows, had the major influence on the probability of meadow utilization. Our study suggests that bison distribution and resource use are influenced by abiotic and biotic factors which vary in importance at different spatio-temporal scales.

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“…These findings point to the cosmopolitan nature of the species, with its ability to exist in upland as well as low-elevation meadow habitats in the north. Two bison dung samples from Friday Creek, dating 2840 ± 60 and 3500 ± 60 years BP, yielded diet composition typical for the average bison diet (Reynolds et al, 1978): grasses (59.3%), sedges (29.1%), forbs (4.2%), shrubs (2.8%), lichens (3.0%), and mosses (0.9%). Comparing these samples to the composition of modern dung collected from the Yukon herd in 2000 and 2001, we found that forbs (2.4%), lichen (4.3%), and moss (2.0%) are correspondingly represented, while shrubs (7.2%), grasses (24.2%) and sedges (60.1%) were significantly different (Student's t-test p < .01).…”

Section: Year Accumulated Melting Degree Days May -Septembermentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidisciplinary Investigations of Alpine Ice Patches in Southwest Yukon, Canada: Paleoenvironmental and Paleobiological Investigations

Farnell¹,

Hare²,

Blake³

et al. 2004

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. Since the discovery of dung-rich alpine ice patches in southwest Yukon in 1997, continuing multidisciplinary studies have provided a unique window on the biology, climate, and hunting activity in this region over much of the Holocene. Aerial surveys have identified 72 ice patches of variable size, and 65 patches have been ground-surveyed for organic remains. Of these, 35 yielded an abundance of biological specimens, including caribou and other rare large mammal remains, mummified small mammals and birds, and artifacts spanning 8000 years. The dung provides pollen and plant macrofossils for analysis and paleoenvironmental reconstruction, as well as dietary, genetic, and parasitic information. Stratigraphically controlled sampling of dung within ice layers has yielded a geochronology placing their formation as early as 8300 to 8000 years BP. Ice patch formation was nearly continuous except for an interval between 6700 and 4700 years BP and another between 1440 and 1030, when warm or dry conditions (or both) resulted in no net ice accumulation. Resumption of ice accumulation over the following 500 years likely culminated in the Little Ice Age. The size of the ice patches during this period is made evident by a lichen-free zone that haloes each patch. More recently, interpretation of air photos from 1946 to 2001 has found a significant reduction in ice patch dimensions. Daily temperature records for Whitehorse (1942 -2001) were used to calculate melting degree-day values that account for a large part of the variation in ice patch size, indicating that while considerable melting has likely occurred since the end of the Little Ice Age, the ice patches are highly sensitive to decadal changes in temperature.

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Diets of the Slave River Lowland Bison Herd, Northwest Territories, Canada

Cited by 56 publications

References 0 publications

Winter diets of reintroduced bison (Bison bison) in northwestern Canada

Winter diets of reintroduced bison (Bison bison) in northwestern Canada

Foraging ecology of bison at the landscape and plant community levels: the applicability of energy maximization principles

Multidisciplinary Investigations of Alpine Ice Patches in Southwest Yukon, Canada: Paleoenvironmental and Paleobiological Investigations

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