A moose "participating" in May's study has her body fat, reproductive success and fitness evaluated during capture. During the course of the two year study, this process will happen five times. The collar provides information on the moose's location every 90 minutes.
Graduate student Alex May at the University of Wyoming provided a presentation on his study of Snowy Range moose population and how it has been affected by the bark beetle kill this year. So far, results have shown that the Snowy Range moose have slightly higher body fat than those in Sublette County (6.7 percent as opposed to 6.1 percent).
The study required the capture of 30 female moose, of which one was a yearling. They will be recaptured five times during the course of the study in order to monitor their pregnancy and body fat, according to May's presentation to the Platte Valley Habitat Partnership (PVHP) on Thursday.
May's information indicated that the Snowy Range moose habitat is different from that in northwest Wyoming. Moose in the Snowy Range live n willow and conifer, the latter of which was heavily affected by the bark beetle kill. Because of this, May explained, the canopy is reduced. The effects of this can either be good, with more sun, or bad, with less thermal cover.
May explained that there was a high pregnancy rate in the Snowy Range moose herd, and of the moose that were captured in March of this year, 18 calves survived the summer. There was one set of twins and three fatalities, May recorded. The two year project will conclude in March 2017.
Dr. Hall Sawyer, of University of Wyoming, provided a presentation on mule deer collaring throughout Wyoming. Sawyer explained that the vast majority of deer in Wyoming are migratory, and "if we want to enjoy the deer that we have, we have to take care of the (migratory) routes."
Sawyer's research has shown that mule deer spend 95 percent of their time in stopover areas and certain corridors along the route. As such, he has been focusing on mapping high use corridors and stopover areas alongside migration patterns, which gives different agencies an idea of how the deer get around.
Thankfully, Sawyer explained, the deer are habitual, using nearly the exact same route yearly and seasonally (save for deer that use loop migration techniques). However, due to the habits of the deer, obstacles such as fencing and roads present problems to herds. I-80, for example, is "basically impermeable to wildlife," Sawyer said.
According to Sawyer, in order to protect these migratory herds "everyone has to be at the table together." Because the deer pass through so many different jurisdictions when they migrate, it requires cooperation between agencies to keep them going on their routes.
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