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A spike-fork (S/F) general open season (GOS) for bull moose (Alces alces) was introduced with a lottery draw, limited entry hunting (LEH) in the Omineca (1981), Thompson (1993), and Okanagan (1993) regions of British Columbia. The S/F regulation permitted harvest of a bull having no more than two tines on one antler, including the tines on the main antler and brow palms; the LEH controlled the harvest of bulls with antlers >S/F. In the Peace region, the S/F regulation was implemented (1996) as part of SOFT regulations which permitted harvest of bulls with spike, fork, or antlers with 3 or more points on either brow palm; in 2003, SOFT 10 regulations permitted the harvest of bull moose with >10 points on one or both antlers. These combinations with the S/F regulation were meant to control annual harvest of bulls, maintain herd social structure, and maximize recreational opportunity. We used age and antler point data collected through a Voluntary Tooth Return Program (VTRP) from 1988 to 2003 (n = 39,325) to assess vulnerability of yearlings (n = 12,743) and 2-year-olds (n = 8,712) to the S/F regulation as well as a hypothetical spike-only regulation. For each age class, we defined potential vulnerability to the S/F regulation as the proportion of bulls in the harvest with S/F antlers when no antler-based restrictions were in place. We similarly defined potential vulnerability to the spike-only regulation as the proportion of bulls in the harvest with at least one spike antler. Potential vulnerability across British Columbia to the spike-fork regulation was 43% for yearlings and 10% for 2-year-old bulls, whereas potential vulnerability to the spike-only regulation was 8% for yearlings and 1% for 2-year-old bulls. Realized vulnerability to harvest of each age class was defined as the proportion of that age class with spike-fork antlers when there were spike-fork regulations combined with either LEH or other antler-based restrictions. Similarly, realized vulnerability to harvest for spike-only bulls in each age class was the proportion of harvested bulls with at least one spike antler when spike-fork regulations were combined with either LEH or as part of the SOFT or SOFT 10 regulations. Realized vulnerability across British Columbia to the S/F regulation was 49% for yearlings and 7% for 2-year-old bulls; realized vulnerability to the spike-only regulation was 9% for yearlings and 1% for 2-year-old bulls. Potential vulnerabilities and realized vulnerabilities varied regionally and annually, which may reflect different subspecies of moose (A. a. shirasi, A. a. andersoni, A. a. gigas) with different antler architectures, but more likely, differences related to habitat quality across the latitudinal breadth of British Columbia. The S/F regulation provides hunting opportunity, but combined with other hunting seasons/regulations, may not provide adequate protection of yearling and 2-year-old bulls in some regions. The spike-only regulation exposes fewer yearling and 2-year-old bulls to harvest and offers an alternative to regulate bull harvests while maintaining hunter opportunity. ALCES VOL. 57: 139-166 (2021) Key words: Alces alces, antler regulations, bull moose, hunting, spike-fork, spike-only, vulnerability, yearling bull, Licensed hunting of moose (Alces alces) in North America has traditionally focused on harvesting bull moose (bulls) with temporal restrictions on harvest of antlerless animals in a population (Timmermann 1987). [...]

The influence of recent wildfires in British Columbia (BC) on moose habitat and its use by moose are understudied, as are prescribed burning strategies that can be used to enhance moose habitat. Our objective was to investigate how 3 classes of fire severity (high, medium, low) interact with 3 soil moisture regimes (hydric, mesic, xeric) in determining how moose use post-fire habitat. In north-central BC, we studied moose use at 2 different spatial levels in the 5-year-old, 26,500 ha Mt. McAllister burn. At the site level, we estimated the density of fecal pellet groups and the percent of plants browsed by moose within plots of varying burn severity and soil moisture. At the landscape level, we investigated use from GPS locations of 7 radio-collared female moose at 3 orders of selection: we compared: 1) randomly distributed locations within the home range to randomly distributed locations throughout the entire burn (2 (nd) order of selection); 2) use locations to randomly distributed potential locations within the home range (3 (rd) order of selection); and daily use locations with potential movement locations (4 (,h) order of selection). At the site level, moose used areas of low/medium fire severity and hydric soil moisture. At the landscape level, moose preferred areas of medium fire severity at the daily order, and low/medium fire severity at both the home range and burn orders of selection. Our findings highlight that moose use of post-fire habitat varied by spatial scale and by order of selection and that researchers assessing use of burns by moose should consider multiple levels of investigation. Prescribed burning to enhance moose habitat should focus on low/medium fire severity at sites with mesic soil moisture. ALCES VOL. 57:1-22 (2021) Key words: Alces alces, burn, burn severity, forest fire, habitat, habitat management, moose, selection, soil moisture, Moose (Alces alces) are an important component of the predator-prey dynamic in northern British Columbia (BC) as they constitute a large portion of prey biomass, making them an important keystone [...]

Moose (Alces alces) may be among one of the most susceptible big game species to climate change. Development of long-term circumpolar databases of this species' densities and distributions, combined with biological, ecological, and management-related metrics, can help guide research and future international management strategies. We emulated methodology previously used to summarize North American moose population and harvest densities for Eurasian countries with free-ranging moose populations. From these data, we created a GIS layer that summarized the circumpolar distribution and density of moose. The following summary analysis of these data indicates that moose have both expanded and contracted along their southern range boundary in recent decades--with losses along the southern range in eastern Asia, particularly China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. In contrast, we documented distributional gains along the western and southwestern range in Europe (Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia). In total, 21 countries have free-ranging moose populations; 8 with sustainable populations and hunting seasons, 5 with sustainable populations but no hunting season, and 8 with vagrant individuals occasionally sighted. A region of high-density moose populations spans from the Scandinavian and Baltic countries into the Russian oblasts of Perm and Sverdlovsk. Distributions ca. 2010 indicated that moose occupied an area of about 16,712,600 [km.sup.2] in Eurasia. Primary range (management units with [greater than or equal to]0.11 moose per [km.sup.2]) composed only 18% of the occupied range while supporting more than 66% of the estimated 1.2 million moose in Eurasia. Additionally, 47% (149,860) of the moose harvested were taken on 10% (1,722,660 [km.sup.2]) of the range. The 2010 circumpolar moose population was estimated to be more than 2.2 million and occupied a range of 26,205,000 [km.sup.2]. Time-series analyses can offer a simple and cost-effective approach to monitor the status of moose populations across large geographical regions and might be particularly insightful given the current and predicted future influences of climate change on moose. Other analyses might address population dynamics, habitat, environmental constraints, and harvest management, among other issues. We encourage jurisdictions to cooperate strategically in implementing and coordinating GIS analyses to monitor, assess, and manage moose populations around the world. We believe these maps can serve as a useful tool for educating the public and policy makers about the importance of habitat and land use practices with respect to maintaining sustainable populations of moose and other species that are dependent upon boreal, temperate broadleaf, and mixed forests. ALCES VOL. 56: 63-78 (2020) Key Words: Alces alces, Asia, distribution, Eurasian elk, Europe, GIS, harvest, moose, population density, Peterson (1955) provided a map showing the general circumpolar range distribution of moose (Alces alces). The most recent attempt to map circumpolar moose populations in both Eurasia and North America [...]

Vehicle collisions with moose (Alces alces) and deer (Odocoileus spp.) pose a serious threat to all motorists travelling highways traversing habitats of these two ungulates. In British Columbia, mitigation measures to reduce such collisions are based on spatially-accurate records of collisions involving moose and deer that are collected by the province's highway maintenance contractors. To date, the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (BC MOTI) uses the paper-based Wildlife Accident Reporting System (WARS) established in 1978 to maintain carcass records. We compared carcass location data collected in 2010 to 2014 by BC MOTI using WARS to that collected by Northern Health Connections bus drivers using a newly developed GPS-based system (Otto[R] Wildlife device). In total, 6,929 carcasses (1,231 moose, 5,698 deer) were recorded using WARS and 474 (167 moose, 410 deer) using the Otto[R] Wildlife device. We compared data collected along 2,800 km on the same highways in the same seasons of the same years. We found more carcass locations were identified with the WARS method, but that in certain geographic regions, the Otto[R] Wildlife system identified several unique locations. We contend that more complete and finer-scale carcass location data is possible using a GPS-based system such as Otto[R] Wildlife, than currently collected solely with the paper-based WARS method. ALCES VOL. 56: 49-61 (2020) Key Words: Alces, car, collision, deer, GPS, moose, Odocoileus, roadkill, survey, vehicle, British Columbia is a province richly inhabited by large mammals and where populations are abundant and highways traverse their habitat, wildlife vehicle collisions (WVC) are a management concern. Between 2013 [...]

ABSTRACT: Browse use surveys such as the twig-length method typically used to assess browsing by ungulates are time-consuming and costly. Here, we describe a modification of the twig-length method that [...]

ABSTRACT: Urban expansion produces obvious and deleterious ecological effects on wildlife habitat. Land development plans continue to be approved in Prince George, British Columbia, both within and on proximate land [...]

ABSTRACT: To gain a better understanding of the behavioral aspects of moose-train encounters, we reviewed videos of ungulate-train interactions available on YouTube™ and from train operators. Video footage consisted of [...]

ABSTRACT: We analyzed the morphometry of 1,965 sets of antlers from hunter-harvested moose (Alces alces andersoni) taken in the central interior of British Columbia. We describe the variation and age-related [...]

ABSTRACT: Antlers from bull moose (Alces alces andersoni) harvested in the Omineca subregion of central British Columbia were submitted by hunters for inspection, measurement, and comparison by age in 1982-1989. [...]

The Distinguished Moose Biologist Award was presented to Dr. Roy V. Rea at the 52 (nd) North American Moose Conference and Workshop held in Spokane, Washington in May of 2018. [...]

ABSTRACT: Moose (Alces alces) browsing influences plant growth and architecture. We sought to determine the impact of the timing of moose browsing on bud development and growth in aspen shoots [...]

ABSTRACT: Regression estimates for determining browse shoot biomass from bite diameters and shoot basal diameters are commonly used to estimate biomass consumption and the impacts that herbivores have on range [...]

ABSTRACT: Study of activity and behavior of moose (Alces alces) has generally been undertaken during daylight hours because research at night is logistically complicated. However, some believe that moose are [...]

ABSTRACT: Despite an increasing body of knowledge about the predictable use and functional role of naturally occurring mineral licks in the ecology of ungulates such as moose (Alces alces), no [...]

New research aims to reduce animal-vehicle collisions by deactivating roadside mineral deposits. Why did the moose cross the road? The answer, according to researchers, often is to visit a wet, [...]