Download or read book Survival and Activity Patterns of Snowshoe Hares Lepus Americanus in Interior Alaska written by Dashiell S. Feierabend and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) survival depends on the interaction of habitat characteristics with numerous biological and environmental variables. In boreal regions where considerable habitat heterogeneity exists, hares balance food availability with predation risk by moving among habitats seasonally, but it is largely unknown how often they move at shorter time scales. I investigated the seasonal effects of habitat, weather, and individual hare characteristics on survival and movement in two common but fundamentally different boreal habitats. Survival was highest in summer, for hares with higher body condition, and in black spruce rather than early successional forest. Hares moved among core use areas in different habitats twice per day on average, using more open areas at night when they were presumably feeding on preferred browse. Movement rates were lowest in mid-afternoon when hares appeared to be resting under dense cover. Behavior of individuals varied greatly with some hares repeatedly moving up to 1 km between defined patches in less than 5 hours and others remaining roughly within a 1 ha area. These findings illustrate the complexity of snowshoe hare ecology in an area where habitat variation promotes daily movement of hares among radically different habitats over a few hundred meters.
Download or read book Habitat Utilization of Snowshoe Hares Lepus Americanus in Interior Alaska written by Jerry Wolff and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Comparison of Snowshoe Hare Populations in Interior Alaska written by Bjorn Flora and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Snowshoe hares, Lepus americanus, are a 'keystone' prey species in northern boreal forests and experience population fluctuations of 8-11-years. Despite intense responses of both vegetation and predators to changes in hare densities, landscape-scale comparisons of hare populations in Alaska have been limited to qualitative descriptions. We conducted capture-recapture studies of snowshoe hares at 5 locales in the Tanana valley, from Tok in the east to Clear in the west from 1999 to 2002. Snowshoe hare densities were highest in 1999 (x=6.36 ha−1, SE=0.63) and declined thereafter. We were unable to detect declines in apparent survival during declining densities in our study populations. Movement distances did not vary temporally and persistence of individuals through declining densities may be associated positively with body condition at the peak. The relationship of hare pellets and hare densities was weak and limits the utility of this methodology for estimating hare densities in Interior Alaska"--Leaf 3.
Download or read book Snowshoe Hare Studies written by Jeanette R. Ernest and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Snowshoe hare populations were studied from June 1970 to Dec. 1973 to determine density of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) in Interior Alaska in three study areas (Central, Fairbanks, and Delta) during the spring and fall, to correlate the estimated density with other indices of abundance, to determine annual productivity during different phases of the cycle, and to relate annual productivity to population trends.
Download or read book Snowshoe Hare Report written by Alaska. Division of Game and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Hair Mineralization of the Snowshoe Hare Lepus Americanus in Interior Alaska written by Stephen Stewart Wood and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Snowshoe Hare Densities in Post fire Vegetation written by Hans Mathias Eriksson and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The objective of this study was to investigate if patterns of snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) densities in interior Alaska are influenced by post-fire successional stage. Stages of succession were classified using the proxy Time Since Last Fire (TSLF). I estimated snowshoe hare densities during the summers of 2003 and 2004 in 5 young (10-20 yrs) and 5 old (44-46 yrs) burns, each with an adjacent unburned control, using indirect distance sampling methods. Because indirect distance sampling has not previously been applied for snowshoe hares, I compared these results with a traditional mark-recapture analysis. Hare density estimates from both methods were not statistically different. I observed that hare densities were not higher in older stands relative to unburned habitat and that hare densities were highly variable in young stands. Therefore, my research suggests that TSLF was not suitable as a stand-alone indicator of quality of habitat for snowshoe hares. Other processes and factors such as fire severity can influence successional pathways and post-fire species composition, creating both temporal and spatial variability in the development of successional stages. I recommend that other covariates, such as fire severity, be researched to address the influence of vegetation succession on hare densities"--Leaf iii.
Download or read book The Snowshoe Hare Filter to Spruce Establishment in Boreal Alaska written by Justin Olnes and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interior Alaska is a heterogeneous landscape within the circumpolar boreal forest and is largely composed of black and white spruce (Picea mariana and P. glauca). Improving our understanding of the factors affecting patterns in spruce regeneration is particularly important because these factors ultimately contribute to shaping the boreal forest vegetation mosaic. Herbivory by snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) is one factor that likely drives patterns in spruce establishment. The interaction between spruce and snowshoe hares provides an opportunity to study how plant-herbivore interactions can affect succession, vegetation community composition, and consequently, how herbivory influences landscape heterogeneity. I explored how herbivory by snowshoe hares alters the survival and growth of spruce seedlings across Interior Alaska’s boreal forest. I hypothesized that the survival and growth rate of regenerating spruce is significantly reduced by snowshoe hare herbivory and that snowshoe hare herbivory influences the pattern of spruce establishment across time and space. To address this hypothesis, I conducted research in three distinct vegetation communities across the region: productive lowland floodplains (Chapters 1 and 2), treeline (Chapters 3 and 4), and recently burned stands of black spruce (Chapter 5). Together these five chapters reveal that snowshoe hares affect spruce establishment across much of boreal Alaska. Where and when hares are abundant, spruce can be heavily browsed, resulting in suppressed seedling growth and increased seedling mortality. The results of these studies also reveal a consistent and predictable pattern in which this plant-herbivore interaction takes place. The snowshoe hare filter acts as a ‘spatially aggregating force’ to spruce establishment, where the potential for optimal regeneration is highest during periods of low hare abundance and where hares are absent from the landscape.
Download or read book Occupancy and Activity Patterns of Snowshoe Hares Martens Fishers and Bobcats Within the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation written by Kimberly Cantrell Shelton and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Snowshoe hare (waabooz; Lepus americanus) are a culturally significant animal and an important source of food and fur for the Leech Lake Bank of Ojibwe. Showshoe hare populations within the Leech Lake Reservation have declined, primarily due to changes in forest structure resulting in reduced dense vegetative cover used to escape predators. Primary mammalian predators are American martens (waabizheshiwag; Martes americana), fishers (ojiigag; Pekania pennanti), and bobcats (gidigaa-bizhiwag; Lynx rufus), Snowshoe hares, martens, and fishers are currently listed as species of management concern on the LLBO's Threatened, Endangered, Sensitive and Management Concern Species list. Research using culturally appropriate techniques is crucial to the future management and conservation of wildlife on tribal lands. We used 2 non-invasive monitoring techniques to assess species-habitat relationships for snowshoe hares and their mammalian predators. Sampling methods examined both spatial occupancy (snow-tracking surveys) and temporal activity patterns (remote camera traps) during the winters of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. Both sampling methods and subsequent analysis incorporated northern white cedar (giizhik; Thuja occidentalis) stands, one of the few remaining cover types within the reservation to provide dense vegetative refugia for snowshoe hares. Occupancy analysis revealed unique habitat relationships for each species; however, snowshoe hare, marten and fisher occupancy were all negatively related to the presence of roads and positively related to vegetative cover such as cedar stands, conifer cover or canopy cover. Snowshoe hare occupancy was positively correlated with predator species diversity, and fisher occupancy was negatively correlated with the presence of bobcats. Results from this research will further inform the use of forest management practices as a tool to support culturally significant species."--Abstract.
Download or read book Influence of Precommercial Thinning on Snowshoe Hares written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Snowshoe Hares in Alaska Home Range and Aspects of Population and Natural History in Interior Alaska by Thomas P O Farrell written by Thomas P. O'Farrell and published by . This book was released on 196? with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Snowshoe Hare Population Studies at Rochester Alberta written by Edwin Charles Meslow and published by . This book was released on 1970 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Snowshoe Hares in Alaska written by Thomas P. O'Farrell and published by . This book was released on 1961* with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Snowshoe Hare written by I. B. Keith and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), one of our commonest forest mammals, is found only in North America. This document presents a description of the species and provides information on habitat and habits, range, feeding, breeding, and conservation measures.
Download or read book Ecology Habitat Use and Winter Thermal Dynamics of Snowshoe Hares in Pennsylvania written by Laura Gigliotti and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Differences in biotic and abiotic characteristics can lead to geographic variation in the ecology of species and populations. Investigating intraspecific variation over large geographic extents can provide insights into the ecological drivers of population dynamics, which is especially important for predicting how future climatic conditions will affect ecological processes. The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) is an excellent species to investigate geographic variation in ecological dynamics because it has a geographic range that encompasses a wide range of climates and habitat types. Although the population dynamics of snowshoe hares in the northern portion of their range are well-studied, information on southern populations is limited. I investigated the ecology, habitat use, and winter thermal dynamics of snowshoe hares in Pennsylvania and compared these data to previous research on other hare populations. From January 2014 -- June 2015 I trapped and monitored snowshoe hares to estimate body condition, survival rates, home range size, and home range overlap. I found that hares in Pennsylvania had greater body mass in relation to their structural size, higher annual survival, and larger home ranges than populations from higher latitudes. Home range overlap occurred frequently and I did not find that hares temporally partitioned their home ranges to minimize interaction with nearby hares. Also I trapped three snowshoe hares that exhibited uncharacteristic brown winter coat coloration, indicating potential differences in the winter molt patterns or color morphs. Using locations collected from GPS collars I examined snowshoe hare seasonal habitat use at the stand-level and at fine-scale microhabitats. I determined that during both summer and winter hares preferred areas of mature scrub oak or conifers and avoided open habitats. At the population level, hares preferred areas with dense understory vegetation and high canopy coverage, although I found substantial individual variability in habitat preferences. My research highlights the importance of incorporating multiple scales of analysis into habitat use studies, as well as accounting for individual variation in habitat preferences. Finally, I investigated geographic differences in snowshoe hares' responses to winter temperatures by comparing winter pelage characteristics and heat production between hares in Pennsylvania and the Yukon, as well as investigated the influence of temperature on resting spot selection and movement rates. I found that hares from Pennsylvania had shorter and less dense winter coats than hares from the Yukon and that the Pennsylvania population had less visible white in their winter coats. Hares in the Pennsylvania population also produced less heat than the Yukon population, indicating a lower metabolic rate. Snowshoe hares did not select for resting spots that offered them thermal advantages, but selected locations providing visual obstruction from predators. Movement rates were associated with ambient temperature, with the lowest hourly movements occurs at the extreme high (>4 oC) and low (
Download or read book Seasonal Variation in Nutritional Biomarkers and Fecal Cortisol Concentrations in a Northern Population of Snowshoe Hares written by Claire Kornet Montgomerie and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blood biomarkers indicative of nutritional status, fecal cortisol metabolite concentrations and an established body condition index (BCI), were collectively examined from snowshoe hares(Lepus americanus) inhabiting northern Alaska in 2018, during five ecologically significant times of year. As a novel approach to increase our understanding of the effects of diet and predation pressure on hare physiology, I addressed how these markers were associated with seasonal timing of energetic demands and adult survival rates. Mean decreases in concentrations of total protein (TP), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), hematocrit (HCT) and glucose during spring and autumn, suggest that snowshoe hare nutritional status decreased during these two seasons in 2018. The shoulder seasons of spring and autumn coincide with energetic challenges, including molt, changes in diet and breeding. Because available forage during these seasons largely consists of winter-dormant twigs, the energy expenditure of growing a new winter coat (autumn) and breeding behavior (spring) may compromise the energy balance of hares during these periods. Male hares, whose activity levels increase during breeding, exhibited lower BCI scores and were slower to molt from white to brown than female hares in May. Furthermore, adult survival rates were lowest during spring months. Snowshoe hare mean fecal cortisol metabolite concentrations did not show associations with seasons of apparent low nutritional status. Adult hare survival rates peaked during summer and early autumn, during which mean values of TP, BUN, Hct, Cl (chloride), Na (sodium) and glucose also increased. By contrast, this period coincided with a 2-fold increase in mean fecal cortisol metabolite concentrations, suggesting that the apparent stressor was not related to nutrition. Interestingly, after having decreased in autumn, BUN, Hct, TP, and glucose mean concentrations increased in midwinter. Free calcium (iCa) and potassium (K) mean concentrations were also highest in December. Hares may have reduced activity during winter months, and metabolic rates may have increased to cope with thermoregulation demands. BCI scores decreased by December, suggesting use of endogenous reserves. Lowest seasonal mean cortisol metabolite concentrations were also observed in mid-winter. This study demonstrates the value of examining both physiological and morphological metrics of snowshoe hare condition to better our understanding of how seasonal trends in food and fear may unfold into cyclic patterns.
Download or read book Winter Track Patterns of Snowshoe Hare Lepus Americanus Red Fox Vulpes Fulva and Lynx Lynx Canadensis Related to Distance from Corridors and Habitat Type Near Cochrane Northeastern Ontario Canada written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
