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- Title
Vegetation structure and composition determine snowshoe hare ( Lepus americanus) activity at arctic tree line.
- Authors
Ewacha, M.V.A.; Roth, J.D.; Brook, R.K.
- Abstract
Snowshoe hares ( Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) are keystone herbivores supporting many boreal-forest predators. Understanding habitat use of hares can help predict how hares and their predators will be affected by disturbances such as climate change, which will have a particularly strong effect at tree line. We examined hare activity at arctic tree line near Churchill, Manitoba, using fecal pellet transects established in August 2012. We counted all hare fecal pellets at two plots per transect and measured plant abundance and vegetation structure surrounding the plots, then used model selection to determine the combinations of habitat features or plant species that best explained hare activity or presence. Hare pellets occurred at a higher density where tall shrub cover was high. Pellet density also increased with increasing canopy cover, tree size, tree density, visibility, and small shrub cover, but was negatively correlated with medium-sized shrub and herb cover. Hares preferred areas with willow (genus Salix L.) and avoided areas with unpalatable black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.). With climate warming, tree line is expected to advance northward and the increased tall shrub and willow cover predicted with increasing temperatures should benefit hares by providing greater predator protection and food.
- Subjects
SNOWSHOE rabbit; TIMBERLINE; HABITATS; TAIGAS; PREDATION; HERBIVORES; CLIMATE change; ANIMAL behavior
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2014, Vol 92, Issue 9, p789
- ISSN
0008-4301
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1139/cjz-2014-0058