Summer Distribution And Habitat Use Of The Jackson Elk Herd

Authors(s): A. E. Parker

Publication:

Publisher:

Publication Date: 0000-00-00

Type: MS

Location: Laramie WY

Abstract: During May through September of 1994 and 1995, 58 radio-collared elk were monitored using a ground-based tower system and fixed-wing aircraft. Radio-telemetry data from the two years of this study were combined with four previous years of elk locations to construct elk summer distribution maps for 1990-1995. Fidelity to summer range of adult elk (>= 3-years-old) was 92% and fidelity of juvenile elk (<= 3-years-old) was 75%. Mortality of elk was low with five out of six deaths resulting from hunter harvest. Elk habitat use on summer ranges in Grand Teton National Park changed as summer progressed. Habitat characteristics, including availabilities of key forage plants, differed between summer ranges in southern Yellowstone National Park (high elk densities) and Teton Wilderness (low elk densities). Based on several thousand relocations of radiocollared elk, Parker developed GIS maps of summer distributions of elk in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, and the Teton Wilderness Area. Sampling of plant species composition and other habitat characteristics of telemetry locations were compared to random locations. Parker identified variables that explained habitat use by elk. In particular, she identified possible reasons for differences in elk densities between Yellowstone Park and the Teton Wilderness.

Keywords: Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Wyoming, animal, mammal, ungulate, Jackson Hole, Teton County, elk, Cervidae, wapiti, Cervus elaphus, radio collar, habitat, distribution, migration, mortality, Grand Teton National Park, National Elk Refuge, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Jackson Hole, Teton County, population, hunting, human activity, forage, Yellowstone National Park, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Teton Wilderness