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

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Abstract
Microhistological examination of fecal samples was used to determine diets of free-ranging bison (Bison bison) from the Slave River lowlands in the Boreal Forest Region of northern Canada. Slough sedge (Carex atherodes) and reedgrasses (Calamagrostis spp.) were the most common range plants, comprising, respectively, 49 and 18% of wet meadows and 1 and 64% of dry meadows. Net annual yield of above-ground plant biomass for wet meadows (4400 kg/ha) significantly exceeded that for dry meadows (2280 kg/ha). Seasonal bison diets contained 29 different plant categories of which 12 contributed over 1% in at least 1 season. Slough sedge and reedgrass were the most common foods for bison at all seasons, ranging, respectively, from 42 and 35% composition in winter to 77 and 15% in spring. Bison selected major food items in a similar rank order throughout the year regardless of changes in relative proportions and number of plant species ingested. Feeding preference for wet habitat was shown. Annual herbage production did not appear to be a population-limiting factor.

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