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Factors Influencing the Southern Distribution and Abundance of Moose

 


Interesting Facts
  • Five M.Sc. students, 1 Ph.D. student and 1 post-doctoral student are working on specific aspects of this project.
  • Survival of adult female moose is very high in most years.
  • Most cow moose return to traditional areas to have their calves each year.
  • The number of calf moose surviving to maturity seems to be no higher in Algonquin Provincial Park than in the human-impacted landscape of WMU 49.

Lead Reserachers:

  • Dr. Dennis Murray (Trent University)
  • Dr. Brent R. Patterson (OMNR)
  • Paul Wilson, (NRDPFC, Trent University)
  • Marie-Josee Fortin (University of Toronto)

 

Email:

brent.patterson@ontario.ca

 

Phone:

705-755-1553

 

Project Objectives:

Moose numbers are dropping in some areas in the southern parts of their range in North America.  This project is trying to determine:

  • The role of Algonquin Park as a source of moose for south-central Ontario
  • The importance of habitat fragmentation, hunting, predation, and parasitism on moose in southern Ontario
  • The relative roles of predation and hunting on moose calf survival
  • How moose numbers relate to the climate in the region and across North America
  • The effectiveness of the moose harvest and moose habitat models currently used to help manage moose numbers in Ontario

 
By closely monitoring adult cow moose and calves we’re able to gain valuable information that may help us to answer many of these questions.  Since January 2006, we have fit 90 cow moose, and 38 calves with either radio or GPS collars in western Algonquin Provincial Park and in wildlife management unit (WMU) 49 (west of Algonquin).

 

Collaborators and Participants:

  • Alan Brand, Msc. candidate, University of Toronto
  • Karen Hussey, Msc. candidate, Trent University
  • Stacey Lowe, Msc. candidate, Trent University
  • Alistair Mackenzie, Msc. candidate, University of Toronto
  • Andrea Maxie, Msc. candidate, Trent University
  • Martyn Obbard, OMNR-WRDS, Peterborough, ON
  • Bruce Pond, OMNR-WRDS, Peterborough, ON
  • Glenys Price, PhD. candidate, Trent University
  • Erin Rees, Post-doctoral student, Trent University

 

Funding Partners:

                    

 
 

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