Bull Moose Seasonal Distribution: Are hunters and biologists seeing the same moose?
Forrest Rosenbower1,
Todd Brinkman1,
Graham Frye2,
Shawn Crimmins3
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Purdue University, West Lafyaette, Indiana, USA
Moose (Alces alces) play a crucial role in Interior Alaska's cultural, nutritional, economic, and ecological landscape. While much research has focused on female moose ecology, there is a notable gap in our understanding of adult male (bull) moose behavior and distribution. This lack of knowledge weakens our ability to manage these populations within the principle of sustained yield. Our study seeks to explore this gap by investigating bull moose space use when population surveys are conducted (Nov) by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and how it relates to space use during the hunting season (Sept). Specifically, we aimed to address ongoing concerns over perceived discrepancies in distribution between hunting seasons and survey seasons. To achieve our objectives, we are creating one of the largest GPS collar databases to track bull moose (n = 78) locations and movements across three game management units in Interior Alaska. Using traditional Kernel density estimators, we quantified similarity in space use between seasons on an individual and “herd” level. We also explored the extent of space use overlap with areas accessible (near navigable roads and rivers) to hunters. Our findings provide insights for wildlife management by illuminating the seasonal differences in space use of one of the most important species to Alaskans.