Nutritional ecology of moose in an urban landscape

Abstract

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Alaska supports a large population of moose that lives in and around the urban and industrial development of Anchorage. This study evaluates the body condition of adult female moose on JBER and calculates the relative nutritional value of habitat for planning development and for mitigating the effects of development on this population. Body condition of moose on JBER was similar to that of other populations of moose in Alaska. Our nutritional model predicted that shrublands could support 11-81 times more moose than any other habitat on JBER. Activity patterns of JBER moose were similar to those published for non-urban moose, indicating habituation to human activity. Activity levels increased as moose moved through higher quality habitats. Sustained production of this heavily utilized population requires maintaining shrublands in undeveloped portions of the base where moose-vehicle collisions can be minimized.