Habitat Use by 4 Sympatric Ungulates in Boreal Mixedwood Forest

Habitat use by moose (Alces alces), wapiti (Cervus canadensis), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and bison (Bison bison) during 1972-73 was investigated in a fenced national park. Ungulates differed in use of habitat types in terms of time spent and kinds of winter activity. Bison and wapiti strongly selected upland grassland at all seasons. Moose preferred shrubland, and sedge meadow was a close second during spring and summer. Deer preferred shrub meadow in spring, summer, and, to a lesser extent, winter, when dense aspen (Populus tremuloides) forest was selected equally. Habitats selected for activity were not always those in which the most time was spent. Between 1948 and 1972, proportions of habitat types on the park showed a 10% decrease in shrub meadow; minor increases occurred in water area due to beavers (Castor canadensis) and in several terrestrial habitats. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 44(4):849-857 Elk Island National Park in central Alberta, Canada, has long had dense populations of moose, wapiti, deer, and bison (Blood 1973, Telfer and Scotter 1975). The area thus provided an excellent location for studies of several aspects of the ecology of those species. Secondary succession in the aspen parkland region has been thought to advance rapidly from openings to continuous forest in the absence of fire (Bird 1961), and data on ungulate habitat selection were required to predict possible population changes due to suppression of fire. The goals of our study were to evaluate selection of existing habitats by the 4 species, especially in winter, both in terms of time spent and kinds of activity. Changes in the proportions of various habitat types in the park over the period 1948-72 also were examined to determine the extent of successional changes. We acknowledge the assistance of many individuals on the staff of Parks Canada, especially H. Webb, R. Jones, M. Kjorlien, R. Eddy, and C. Allen; and Canadian Wildlife Service technicians J. Langevin, C. Larsen, and H. Reynolds. C. Bird of the University of Calgary, G. Scotter of the Canadian Wildlife Service, and R. Hudson of the University of Alberta reviewed the manuscript.