Browsing by Author "Windels, Steven K"
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Item Effect of Temperature on Habitat Use by Moose in Voyageurs National Park in the Summer(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2015) Moen, Ronald; Joyce, Michael; Windels, Steven KMoose (Alces alces) are an integral part of biological processes and a favorite sight of visitors to Voyageurs National Park (VNP). In the face of global climate change moose may also become a bellwether species for the persistence of northern species in VNP and the surrounding area. Climate change will affect national parks like VNP in many ways, ranging from changes in vegetation and possible loss of wildlife species to altered visitation rates by people. Minnesota is at the southern edge of moose distribution. Climate change predictions are for a 3o to 4o C increase in average summer temperatures by 2100, which would result in an increased number of summer days during which moose would be heat stressed. We deployed GPS collars on moose in VNP to evaluate changes in habitat use and activity as related to fine-scale changes in ambient temperature. We captured and radiocollared 21 moose by aerial darting or net-gunning. We measured black globe temperatures in habitats across VNP. The annual Minimum Convex Polygon home range area was about 15 km2, while seasonal home ranges were about 10 km2. Home range size was slightly less than in adjoining areas of northeast Minnesota. There was no difference in proportional cover type in the home range among annual, winter, and summer home ranges, and cover type use was similar to cover type use by moose in northeast Minnesota. Wet bog and wet marsh/fen cover types were preferred in hot summer temperatures, while open water was not used very much, with less than 1% of locations in water when temperatures were above 30 C. Use of almost all cover types was similar whether temperature, dew point, or heat index were used as the metric. For future analysis of cover type use ambient or black globe temperature should be an adequate metric. Habitats that are of most use to moose in hot temperatures have a wet substrate and some canopy cover during the day. At night moose seemed to be less limited by heat dissipation because of colder temperatures and the lack of solar radiation. Monitoring the population status of moose at Voyageurs National Park is of critical importance in order to make contrasts with the declining moose populations in other regions of Minnesota.Item Lynx habitat suitability in and near Voyageurs National Park(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2009) Moen, Ronald; Windels, Steven KVoyageurs National Park (VOYA) is within historical distribution limits of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis). Records of lynx exist for the area in and near VOYA since the 1970s, and recent sightings have been confirmed with DNA analysis. We initiated this project to determine habitat suitability for lynx in VOYA, and if possible to deploy radiocollars on lynx in VOYA. The lynx radiotelemetry project on the Superior National Forest provided data on home range size, density, cover type use, and prey density to which VOYA could be compared. We used remote cameras and snow-tracking to search for lynx in and near VOYA in 2007 and 2008. We estimated density of the lynx’s primary prey, snowshoe hare (Lepus americanns) with hare pellet counts, extrapolated hare density to the landscape level, and contrasted VOYA with lynx home ranges from the Superior National Forest radiotelemetry project. Remote cameras and track searches did not provide evidence to suggest there were resident lynx in VOYA. No lynx were seen in pictures taken at camera stations where other carnivore species were photographed during this project. We did not positively identify any tracks to be from lynx. The hare pellet data indicated that VOYA and the surrounding area may not be good habitat for lynx at the present time. Hare pellet densities in core areas of lynx home ranges in northeastern Minnesota were 1.5 to 2.0 times higher than hare pellet densities in and near VOYA. If hare density were to increase in or near VOYA, at least 3 to 4 female lynx home ranges and 2 male lynx home ranges could fit in VOYA and the surrounding area. Although there may be local areas of high hare density a lynx could use for a short period, it does not appear that there are currently resident lynx in VOYA given the search effort over the past seven years. Lynx documented on and near VOYA are probably transient animals.