Moose Foraging in Temperate Forests of Central Massachusetts 2005

The "re-wilding" of ecosystems with extirpated large mammals has become a focus of recent scientific and conservation initiatives; however, it is unclear how proposed re-introductions will influence systems that are often vastly different from those that occurred before these animals were extirpated. Moose, the Northeast’s largest Holocene browser, have recently expanded across southern New England’s temperate forest landscape after an absence of 200 years, realizing a natural re-wilding experiment. Moose have been well-studied throughout the boreal forest biome; however, because they are rare today in temperate forests, almost Nothing is known of their ecology, behavior, or potential impacts to these ecosystems. This study investigated patterns of winter moose browse in order to: (1) gain insight into the likely influences of this herbivore on the vegetation patterns of the region; and (2) to identify the most important habitat features influencing moose winter foraging activity at a landscape and site scale.

针对已局地绝灭大型哺乳动物的生态系统再野化（re-wilding）行动，已成为近期科学研究与保护实践的核心议题；但目前尚不清楚，拟实施的再引入计划将如何对生态系统产生影响——当前的生态系统往往与这些动物局地绝灭前的原始状态大相径庭。驼鹿（Moose）作为北美东北部全新世最大的啃食类植食动物，在消失200年后，如今已在新英格兰南部的温带森林区域快速扩散，构成了一场天然的再野化实验。驼鹿在寒温带针叶林生物群区（boreal forest biome）中已被广泛研究；但由于现今温带森林中的驼鹿种群极为稀少，学界对其在该类生态系统中的生态学特征、行为模式及潜在影响几乎一无所知。本研究针对驼鹿冬季啃食行为模式展开调查，旨在达成两项研究目标：其一，揭示该植食性动物对该区域植被格局的潜在影响；其二，在景观与样地尺度上，明确影响驼鹿冬季觅食活动的关键生境特征。