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Harvard Forest Symposium Abstract 2006

  • Title: Moose foraging ecology at their southern range boundary: the temperate forests of Central Massachusetts
  • Primary Author: Edward Faison (Highstead, Inc.)
  • Additional Authors: David Foster (Harvard University); Glenn Motzkin (University of Massachusetts - Amherst )
  • Abstract:

    Species range limits are generally defined by abiotic factors at higher latitude boundaries and biotic factors at lower latitude boundaries (Brown et al. 1996). At their southern range boundary in New England, moose are potentially limited by warm climates, high deer densities, human development, and available browse. Using the Quabbin and Ware River Reservation forests as a study area, we investigated which of these variables are the most important drivers of moose foraging activity in Central Massachusetts. Moose browse was quantified within a broad range of forest types, ages, and topographical positions. At a landscape scale, moose appeared to be most influenced by climate, as foraging activity was significantly higher at the Ware River forests where forested wetland cover, conifer cover, and average elevations are greater than at Quabbin. Climate also appeared to be the most important factor at a site scale, as moose foraging activity was correlated with elevation, decreasing distance to conifer cover, and the coolest microclimates of the landscape (swamps, swales, hollows, floodplains). Increasing distance from development was also an important correlate of moose foraging activity at the site scale as was food density found in recent (5-13 year) and intensive forest harvests. Stand composition was an unimportant driver of moose foraging at the site scale; however, at the individual plant scale, a significantly higher proportion of hemlock and red maple stems were browsed than oak, white pine, and sugar maple stems. Deer densities were an unimportant predictor of moose foraging in this study. These results suggest that thermoregulation may become an increasingly important driver of moose foraging at their southern range boundary, as temperatures continue to rise across the northeastern United States








    Literature Cited


    Brown, J. H., G. C. Stevens, and D. M. Kaufman. 1996. The geographic range: size, shape, boundaries, and internal structure. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 27: 597-623.





  • Research Category: Regional Studies