Habitat Partitioning and Wildfire Relationships of Cervids in Glacier National Park, Montana

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Wildfire and habitat relations of moose (Alces alces), elk (Cervus canadensis) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in northwestern Glacier National Park, Montana [USA], were examined. Winter habitat use by all 3 cervids was nearly distinct with significant overlap in only 1 vegetation type, spruce forest. Winter diets of all 3 spp. were primarily browse (88-100%), and a high degree of similarity was found between the diets of elk and moose in spruce stands (dietary overlap coefficient, C = 0.64) and between elk and whitetails in spruce stands (C = 0.67), but competition is apparently reduced by the spatial separations. A test for association indicated that, in winter, elk and moose were highly negatively associated (C7 = 0.910 .+-. 0.073); that is, they were dispersed in a nonrandom fashion, as were elk and whitetails (C7 = 0.800 .+-. 0.085), and moose and whitetails (C7 = 0.920 .+-. 0.036). Distributions were related to snow depth and vegetation type rather than stand ages.