Winter foraging behavior of elk in the shrub-steppe of Washington

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Journal of Wildlife Management; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/3809093· OSTI ID:5696309

McCorquodale, S M ^[1]

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1. Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)

Numerous models of ungulate foraging behavior have been published, but data on foraging behavior for wild North American ungulates relevant to model testing are scarce. I studied the detailed foraging behavior of elk from autumn through early spring in Washington's shrub-steppe using focal animal sampling and collected corollary data on elk diets, forage quality, and home ranges. I tested the hypotheses that foraging effort is proportional to energetic payoffs determined by the quality and abundance of various forages, and elk home-range size reflects relative foraging movements (i.e., macro and micro movements are related). Elk were mobile foragers during autumn and spring and were relatively sedentary during mid-winter. High mobility was associated with low diet diversity and generally with reduced forage harvesting rates. This mobile foraging occurred during periods of higher quality forage availability. Thus, mobile foraging appeared to reflect increased effort when energetic payoffs of selective foraging were enhanced. Degree of dietary specialization was limited by the relative abundance of preferred forages, being greater when grass quality was high, and less when forb quality was high. Indices of elk movement while foraging were also positively related to home-range size and distance between relocations of radio-collared elk. These data are generally consistent with ungulate foraging model predictions. 34 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 5696309
• Journal Information: Journal of Wildlife Management; (United States), Vol. 57:4; ISSN 0022-541X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
DEER
DIET
ECOLOGY
ABUNDANCE
BEHAVIOR
FORAGE
HOME RANGE
MOBILITY
RANGELANDS
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
WASHINGTON
WILD ANIMALS
ANIMAL FEEDS
ANIMALS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECOSYSTEMS
FOOD
MAMMALS
NORTH AMERICA
RUMINANTS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
USA
VARIATIONS
VERTEBRATES
550000* - Biomedical Sciences
Basic Studies