Aspen Bibliography

Compensatory growth of wapiti (Cervus elaphus) on aspen parkland ranges

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Canadian Journal of Zoology

Volume

69

Issue

6

First Page

1682

Last Page

1688

Publication Date

1991

Abstract

We studied the behavior and performance of wapiti on aspen parkland ranges in central Alberta after a winter in which one group received a pelleted alfalfa–barley supplement and another served as a control, on an unsupplemented diet. Wapiti that were lighter at the end of winter because they were young or because they did not receive nutritional supplementation grew faster on summer pasture. This compensatory gain was not explained by any one factor. Intake rates, bite rates, bite sizes, and diet selectivity varied by habitat and date, but did not differ consistently between wapiti receiving supplemented and unsupplemented diets. Irrespective of winter nutrition treatment, wapiti apportioned feeding time to different habitats in relation to foraging returns. However, by feeding longer, those on an unsupplemented diet consumed more forage during the spring flush in mid-April, and over all time periods, lighter individuals consumed more relative to body weight. Diet digestibility as a consequence of either greater forage selectivity or digestive efficiency was unaffected by nutritional history. Resting metabolic rates increased from 495 kJ∙kg−0.75∙d in late winter to 641 kJ∙kg−0.75∙d in summer, but were not significantly related to compensatory gain or reproductive status.

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