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Seasonal movements of migratory and resident female moose (Alces alces) in north-central British Columbia, Canada

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Abstract

Ungulate habitat use and movements are highly variable among individuals, populations, and regions. Factors that influence annual and seasonal movements are important to understand for management purposes. Within some populations, moose (Alces alces) are known to migrate between seasonal ranges, generally in response to changes in the environment. A total of 45 female moose were fitted with GPS collars between March 1, 2014, and February 28, 2018, in and around the John Prince Research Forest in north-central British Columbia, Canada, to determine the prevalence and timing of migration. Using the model-based net squared displacement approach, we classified 67 (74%) annual trajectories as migratory, of which 43 (48%) were migrant and 24 (27%) were mix-migrant. We classified 22 annual trajectories (24%) as resident and one (1%) as a disperser. Moose with migratory trajectories exhibited a consistent pattern of leaving their winter range (WR) in April and returning from November to February after spending the majority of the year in their non-winter range (NWR). There was a significant negative correlation between mean monthly elevation and mean monthly snow on the ground for migratory moose. The mean distance separating migratory moose WR and NWR ranges (δ) was 32 km (SD = 30 km) but varied greatly from a minimum of 5 km to a maximum of 61 km. We discuss the potential implications of our results on surveys used to estimate moose population abundance and trends. We contend that a better understanding of moose seasonal habitat use patterns would aid moose management, help delineate important seasonal rangelands and migration corridors, inform population survey designs, and expand our understanding of moose populations in general.

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Data availability

The data associated with this manuscript are part of a larger project in partnership with the Government of British Columbia.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Tl’azt’en Nation and Nak’azdli Whut’en Nation for their support for the project. Thanks to Douglas Heard, Gerald Kuzyk, Glen Watts, Ralph Pierre, Beverly John, and Fred Sam for help getting the project started. We thank Glen Watts, Greg Altoft, David Argument, Brad Culling, Mike Klazek, Rob Altoft, and Bryan Macbeth for capture assistance.

Funding

Funding was provided by the Government of British Columbia, John Prince Research Forest, Tanizul Timber Ltd, TransCanada Corp, Spectra Energy, and Cliffs Natural Resources.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9, Canada

    Joseph D. Chisholm & Roy V. Rea

  2. John Prince Research Forest, University of Northern British Columbia, P.O. Box 2378, Fort St. James, BC, V0J 1P0, Canada

    Dexter P. Hodder & Shannon M. Crowley

  3. Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Government of British Columbia, 2000 Ospika Blvd S, Prince George, BC, V2N 4W5, Canada

    Shelley Marshall

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  1. Joseph D. Chisholm
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  2. Dexter P. Hodder
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  4. Roy V. Rea
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Correspondence to Dexter P. Hodder.

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Research ethics and capture permit were obtained under the British Columbia Wildlife Act (#PG13-92390).

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Communicated by Rafał Kowalczyk

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Chisholm, J.D., Hodder, D.P., Crowley, S.M. et al. Seasonal movements of migratory and resident female moose (Alces alces) in north-central British Columbia, Canada. Mamm Res 66, 419–427 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-021-00575-6

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