COW ELK ECOLOGY, MOVEMENTS AND HABITAT USE IN THE DUCK MOUNTAINS OF MANITOBA MASTER OF ENVIRONMENT THESIS June 2009 Daniel John Chranowski Master of Environment University of Manitoba Faculty of Graduate Studies Department of Environment & Geography © i ABSTRACT This study conducted baseline research to determine home range, movements and habitat selection of Manitoban elk (Cervus elaphus manitobensis) in the Duck Mountain (DM) of west-central Manitoba. Cow elk (n =22) were captured by helicopter net-gun and GPS radio-collared in 2005/06. Data was analyzed with ArcView 3.3 for Windows (ESRI). DM elk show selection for deciduous forest and avoidance of roads. Mean 100% MCP home ranges were 127.85 km2 with 95% and 50% adaptive kernel home range sizes of 58.24 km2 and 7.29 km2, respectively. Home range overlap occurs at all times of the year with many elk using farmland. Elk moved the least in late winter. Movements increased in the spring, declined in June with a gradual increase from July to October. Elk had generalized movement in southerly directions. No cow elk dispersed from the study area. Mean estimated calving date was June 3rd and mean estimated breeding date was September 27th. DM elk were found in mature deciduous/mixed-wood forest and shrub/grassland/prairie savannah ecosites but not found within 200 m of a road or water feature more often than expected by random. Elk were found in areas with <10% and >81% crown closure, on middle slopes and variable aspects. Elk displaced from forestry cut-blocks. Only 149 of 79,284 elk locations were within 100 m of a winter cattle operation. Recommendations to mitigate forestry and BTB impacts focus on riparian areas, road management, farming practices and hunting. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The expert flying, dedication and enthusiasm of Dauphin Air pilots, Pat and Bob Simpson and Tom Gibbs is greatly appreciated. The assistance from MB Conservation field personnel Glen Vandoorne, Doug Tirschman, Fred Case, Jim Kamann, Gerald Shelemy, Doug Maxwell, Laurie Brouzes, Grant Zeiler, John LeDoux, Ian Kitch, Glen Miller, Richard Davis, Ken Rebizant and Herman Dettman made things work smoothly. Many thanks to veterinarians, Marc Cattet of the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre, Todd Shury of Parks Canada, Clay Wilson (pilot) & Tony Vandenbrink (wrangler) of Bighorn Helicopters for their safe and efficient handling of the elk capture. Thanks to Ryan Brook, Vince Crichton and Doug Bergeson for comments on the draft thesis proposals. Thanks to my committee members, Rick Riewe, David Walker and Rick Baydack for their continuing support. Special thank-you goes to my advisor, David Walker for his ongoing feedback and encouragement and especially his help with radio-collar re-furbishment payments. Thanks to Tim Sallows for GPS data down-loads provided from Global Precision collars. For their assistance in GIS data analysis, I thank Gary Slack and Tara Wiess of MB Conservation, Steven Hills of Louisiana-Pacific and Sean Frey of Parks Canada. Many thanks go to Ryan Brook for his enthusiasm and insight to numerous brain-storming sessions and for his assistance in the habitat selection analysis. Thanks goes to Bruce Wright of Manitoba Conservation for the educational leave support for this Master‟s research. In addition, I would like to thank all the landowners that allowed elk capture on their land and their continued interest in this project. Finally, to all members of the TB Task Group (both past and present), I extend thanks for your interest and dedication to the task at hand. This is a big undertaking and I apologize if I have forgotten to mention others who may have assisted me in this research. My oversight was not intentional. This project has received generous financial support from MB Conservation, Wildlife & Ecosystem Protection Branch and Parks & Natural Areas Branch; Parks Canada; Louisiana-Pacific Canada Ltd., The Wildlife Society and the University of Manitoba. In addition, Global Precision Inc. donated radio-collars for the continuance of this research. iii DEDICATION I could not have completed this Master‟s without the love and support of my wife, Mila, my daughter, Deanna and my son, Ryan. I thank you for your understanding, patience and inspiration! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii DEDICATION iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES x CHAPTER I: 1.1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 GENERAL ELK ECOLOGY AND RESEARCH 2 RECENT HISTORY OF BOVINE TB ISSUES IN WESTERN MANITOBA 4 RECENT HISTORY OF FORESTRY IN THE DUCK MOUNTAIN 4 1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 5 1.3 OBJECTIVES 6 1.4 LITERATURE CITED 8 CHAPTER 2: 2.1 STUDY AREA 12 GEOLOGY, SOILS AND CLIMATE 13 PLANT AND ANIMAL COMMUNITIES 14 2.2 LITERATURE CITED 19 CHAPTER 3: ASPECTS OF COW ELK HABITAT SELECTION WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO CALVING AND BREEDING SEASON 3.1 ABSTRACT 21 v 3.2 INTRODUCTION ELK ECOLOGY PERTAINING TO THE CALVING SEASON 22 ELK ECOLOGY PERTAINING TO THE BREEDING SEASON 23 HABITAT SELECTION RESEARCH 26 3.3 MATERIALS AND METHODS 28 ELK CAPTURE 28 HABITAT SELECTION ANALYSIS 29 3.4 RESULTS 32 HABITAT SELECTION 32 3.5 DISCUSSION 34 HABITAT SELECTION 34 3.6 CONCLUSIONS 37 3.7 LITERATURE CITED 48 CHAPTER 4: ASPECTS OF COW ELK HOME RANGE AND MOVEMENTS WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO CALVING AND BREEDING SEASONS 4.1 ABSTRACT 53 4.2 INTRODUCTION 54 GPS RADIO-COLLAR RESEARCH 54 HOME RANGE RESEARCH 55 ANIMAL MOVEMENT RESEARCH 58 4.3 MATERIALS AND METHODS 59 ELK CAPTURE 59 vi GPS COLLAR DEPLOYMENT AND RETRIEVAL 59 HOME RANGE ANALYSIS 61 ANIMAL MOVEMENT ANALYSIS 62 4.4 RESULTS 63 HOME RANGE 63 ELK MOVEMENTS 66 4.5 DISCUSSION 69 HOME RANGE 69 ELK MOVEMENTS 71 4.6 CONCLUSIONS 74 4.7 LITERATURE CITED 97 CHAPTER 5: ASPECTS OF COW ELK HABITAT USE WITH REFERENCE TO SPECIFIC LANDSCAPE FEATURES 5.1 ABSTRACT 103 5.2 INTRODUCTION 104 ELK AND ROADS 104 ELK AND WATER 105 ELK AND CATTLE 105 ELK AND FORESTRY 106 5.3 MATERIALS AND METHODS 107 5.4 RESULTS 109 RELATIVE FOREST USE 109 vii FOREST CUT-BLOCKS 111 ROADS 111 WATER 112 WINTER CATTLE OPERATIONS 112 5.5 DISCUSSION 113 HABITAT USE IN RELATION TO FORESTS AND CUT-BLOCKS 113 HABITAT USE IN RELATION TO ROADS 115 HABITAT USE IN RELATION TO WATER 117 HABITAT USE IN RELATION TO WINTER CATTLE OPERATIONS 117 5.6 CONCLUSIONS 119 5.7 LITERATURE CITED 138 CHAPTER 6: 6.1 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 143 6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS AS IT PERTAINS TO BOVINE TB MANAGEMENT 144 6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS AS IT PERTAINS TO FOREST MANAGEMENT 147 6.4 FUTURE RESEARCH 150 6.4 LITERATURE CITED 151 6.5 APPENDICIES 152 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Summary of 22 telemetry flights (June 2005 to March 2007) in which 242 different elk groups were classified into habitat types 38 Table 4.1 Duck Mountain cow elk radio collar information (2005-2007) 76 Table 4.2 Mean 100% MCP, 95% adaptive kernel and 50% adaptive kernel home ranges (km2) for Duck Mountain cow elk (n=22) in 2005/06 and 2006/07 77 Table 4.3 Seasonal 100% MCP home ranges for Duck Mountain cow elk (n = 22). 78 Table 4.4 Monthly cumulative distance traveled (kilometers) by individual elk in the DM from 2005 to 2007 (n = 22) 79 Table 4.5 Mean bearing (0) and mean cardinal direction for all elk by month for 2005 to 2007 (n = 22) 79 Table 5.1 Habitat descriptions of eco-sites with elk locations (n = 17,525) within the Duck Mountain Provincial Forest (DMPF) 120 Table 5.2 Expected vs. observed use of habitat types by cow elk in the Duck Mountain Provincial Forest (2005-2007) 121 Table 5.3 Step lengths of elk that are partially or entirely within or entirely outside 100m of a road feature. Only 11 elk with 2 hour fix intervals used for analysis 122 Table 5.4 Step lengths of elk that are partially or entirely within or entirely outside 100m of a water feature. Only 11 elk with 2 hour fix intervals used for analysis 123 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Distribution of forest cut-blocks in the Duck Mountains (1990-2008) 7 Figure 2.1 Location of the Duck Mountain study area in the Province of Manitoba. Shaded areas are the sites of original elk capture in 2005/2006 17 Figure 2.2 Mean monthly temperature and precipitation at Roblin, Manitoba from 1983 to 2007 18 Figure 3.1 Duck Mountain elk capture at point of helicopter net-gun discharge, February 2006 39 Figure 3.2 Duck Mountain elk radio-collar attachment at point of release February, 2006 39 Figure 3.3 Duck Mountain study area layer used for habitat selection analysis 40 Figure 3.4 Study area habitat selection for 2005 to 2007 (n = 10 elk) 41 Figure 3.5 Habitat selection in May and June calving period for Duck Mountain cow elk (n = 10) 42 Figure 3.6 Habitat selection by 6 farmland and 4 forest elk, each with >90% of their home range found within the farmland or forest area respectively, in the DM area 43 Figure 3.7 Habitat selection in September and October rutting period for DM cow elk (n = 10) 44 Figure 3.8 Relative annual habitat use (+ SE) of habitat types of the Duck Mountain area by cow elk at 4 scales of spatial analysis (i.e. 50m, 500m, 1000m, 2000m). 45 Figure 3.9 Habitat selection within 95% adaptive kernel home ranges for Duck Mountain cow elk (n = 10 elk) 46 Figure 3.10 Relative use of habitat types within the study area by month for Duck Mountain cow elk (n=22) 47 Figure 4.1 All locations of 22 cow elk in the Duck Mountains of Manitoba from 2005 to 2007 (n = 79,286) 80 x LIST OF FIGURES (CONTINUED) Figure 4.2 Annual 100% minimum convex polygon (MCP) home ranges from 2005 to 2007 for Duck Mountain cow elk (n = 22) 81 Figure 4.3 All 95% kernel home ranges for 2005 to 2007 Duck Mountain cow elk (n =