Moose Habitat Preferences in Response to Changing Availability

Abstract

Application of Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models without testing in areas other than where they were generated, and claims that habitat preferences have been proven, indicate that managers and scientists believe that habitat preferences of wildlife are fixed. We tested this hypothesis by comparing habitat preferences of 2 groups of moose (Alces alces) in northeastern Alberta, Canada, to which the same habitat classes were available but differed in relative abundance. We estimated habitat availability for each of 22 radiomarked, adult female moose and divided the animals into 2 groups based on the similarity of relative habitat class abundances. We measured habitat preference for individual moose from each group during 2 seasons in each of 2 years using a simple resource selection function (RSF). We used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare differences between groups. Preference of several habitat classes differed between groups, indicating that habitat preferences of moose are not fixed and change as the relative abundance of available habitat changes. Managers must recognize and account for this concept in the application of habitat prescriptions or management plans. JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 68(3):576-584

Selection for forage and avoidance of risk by woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) at coarse and local scales

“…Predicting these changes in habitat selection is key to understanding observed shifts in habitat needs between pristine and disturbed landscapes (Osko et al 2004). The relationship between selection at multiple spatial scales is still poorly understood (Mayor et al 2009).…”

Generalized functional responses for species distributions

“…Underlying this process, is the implicit (and incorrect) assumption that if an empirical model of preference is not anchored to particular geographical locations, then it will automatically capture the essence of the behavior of the animals and will therefore be portable across space or time. This fallacious assumption has been made by several mainstream approaches to niche modeling, despite the fact that many studies (Johnson 1980, Mysterud and Ims 1999, Mauritzen et al 2003, Osko et al 2004, Aarts et al 2008, Godvik et al 2009, Beyer et al 2010 have emphasized that parameter estimates of species distribution models are conditional on the availability of all environmental units to the study animals. Therefore, predictions of these models are valid only for the spatiotemporal frame of the data on which they were fit (Hirzel and LeLay 2008) and are furthermore completely reliant on the ad hoc definition of availability imposed by the data collection or analysis protocols (Beyer et al 2010).…”

Habitat use and selection by male and female moose (Alces alces) in a boreal landscape.

“…Moose are known to exhibit high variability in habitat use (Osko et al 2004, Mansson et al 2007, Poole et al 2007, Leblond et al 2010. Striking seasonal changes that occur in boreal systems, as well as cyclical demands o f reproduction, strongly influence individual survival.…”