There’s no place like home — site fidelity by female moose (Alces alces) in central Ontario, Canada

Abstract

Site fidelity is thought to provide increased fitness through familiarity with the distribution of forage, protective cover, breeding and offspring rearing sites, and predators. For moose (Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758)), previous research has documented fidelity at varying spatial scales. Our objective was to build on this knowledge and assess fidelity by adult female moose in two areas of central Ontario, Canada (Algonquin Provincial Park (APP) and Wildlife Management Unit 49 (WMU49)). We used global positioning system data to generate mean weekly locations for collared moose, then measured the distance between paired weekly locations among consecutive years to evaluate site fidelity. We tested for effects of study area, biological season, moose age, and reproductive status using generalized linear mixed models. Moose demonstrated stronger site fidelity in WMU49, an area with more anthropogenic disturbance, than the protected area, APP. Fidelity was weakest in the winter, but was similar among other seasons and was independent of maternal age and the presence of a calf. Our study highlights the need to consider the scale of site fidelity relative to habitat management. Actions aimed at supporting moose populations might benefit more by protecting habitat classes selected by moose rather than specific sites used by individuals.