University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones Department of Geography and the Environment 12-2013 Spatial Relationships, Movements, and Habitat Associations of Introduced “Non-Native” Elk Populations on Etolin and Zarembo Islands, Alaska Jean S. Davidson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/geog_ms_capstone Part of the Geographic Information Sciences Commons, and the Physical and Environmental Geography Commons Recommended Citation Davidson, Jean S., "Spatial Relationships, Movements, and Habitat Associations of Introduced “Non- Native” Elk Populations on Etolin and Zarembo Islands, Alaska" (2013). Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones. 48. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/geog_ms_capstone/48 This Capstone is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Geography and the Environment at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS, MOVEMENTS, AND HABITAT ASSOCIATIONS OF INTRODUCED “NON- NATIVE” ELK POPULATIONS ON ETOLIN AND ZAREMBO ISLANDS, ALASKA __________ A C apston e Project Presented to the Faculty of Natural Sciences and M athem atics University of Denver __________ In Partial Fu lfillm en t of the Requirem ents for the Degree M aster of S cien ce __________ by Jean S. Davidson Decem ber 2013 Advisor: Steven R. H ick D a v id so n - ii © Copyright by Jean S. Davidson 2013 All Rights Reserved D a v id so n - iii Author: Jean S. Davidson T it le : S p a t ia l R e lation sh ips, M ovem en ts, an d H abitat A ssociation s of Introduced “Non- Native” Elk Populations on Etolin and Zarem bo Islands, A la s k a Advisor: Steven R. Hick Degree Date: June 2014 A b s tra c t Etolin and Roosevelt Elk w ere introduced to A fognak Island, A laska in 1929 (State of Alaska, 2013). Due to the success of that introduction, Roosevelt Elk and Rocky Mountain Elk were subsequently introduced to Z arem bo and Etolin Islands in Southeast Alaska in 1987. Due to the environm ent of Southeast Alaska, the ability to determ ine m ovem ents, trends, and h abitat preferences are limited. In support of the Alaska Departm ent of Fish and G am e (A D F& G ), th is proje ct an alyze s th e h abitat preferences of the elk based upon data from global positionin g system s. Locational data is analyzed for proximity to m anaged lands and con siders proxim ity to fresh w ater and slope. Findings w ill be incorporated into A D F & G ’s long term m anagem ent of the elk and the m anaged areas. D a v id so n - iv Acknow ledgem ents I w ould like to thank M r. R ichard Low ell of th e Alaska Departm ent of Fish an d G am e for h is assistan ce an d gu idan ce th rou gh th is process. I would also wish to thank Mr. Robert Davidson for his insight and patience. D a v id so n - v Table of Contents Chapter One: In tro d u c tio n .........................................................................................................1 Background ........................................................................................................................1 E lk ........................................................................................................................................3 Environm ent ......................................................................................................................5 Managed and Unm anaged Lands..................................................................................8 Geographic Inform ation System s ............................................................................... 10 Chapter Tw o: Design and Im plem entation .......................................................................... 12 Global Positioning System s .......................................................................................... 12 Analysis Methodology .................................................................................................... 12 Chapter Three: Results ............................................................................................................. 16 E to lin Is la n d ..................................................................................................................... 16 Zarem bo Island............................................................................................................... 49 Chapter Four: Discussion ......................................................................................................... 76 D e n s ity .............................................................................................................................. 76 Fresh W ater ..................................................................................................................... 77 S lo p e ................................................................................................................................. 78 M anaged Lands ............................................................................................................... 79 Chapter Five: Summary ........................................................................................................... 81 References ................................................................................................................................... 82 B ib lio g ra p h y ................................................................................................................................. 86 Table of Figures D a v id so n - vi Figure 1. Case Study Location and Orientation ....................................................................7 Figure 2. Etolin Island, A laska Subset A reas ....................................................................... 17 Figure 3. Etolin Island, Elk Density Locations for 2008 to 2011..................................... 18 Figure 4. Etolin Island, Elk D ensity: A utum nal Equinox to W inter S olstice ................. 19 Figure 5. Etolin Island, Elk D ensity: R utting Locations ..................................................... 20 Figure 6. Etolin Island, Elk D ensity: W inter S olstice to V ernal Equinox ....................... 21 Figure 7. Etolin Island, E lk Density: Vernal Equinox to Sum m er Solstice .................... 22 Figure 8. Etolin Island, Elk D ensity: Calving Locations ..................................................... 23 Figure 9.Etolin Island, Elk Density: Sum m er Solstice to Autum nal Equinox ............... 24 Figure 10. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to Fresh W ater................................. 26 Figure 11. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to Fresh W ater, S ubset 1 .............. 27 Figure 12. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in R elation to Fresh W ater, S ubset 2 .............. 28 Figure 13. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in R elation to Fresh W a te r, S u bs e t 3 .............. 29 Figure 14. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to Fresh W ater, S ubset 4 .............. 30 Figure 15. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to Fresh W ater, S ubset 5 .............. 31 Figure 16. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to Fresh W ater, S ubset 6 .............. 32 Figure 17. Etolin Island, Elk Locations on S pecified S lope Percentages ....................... 34 F ig u re 1 8. Etolin Island, Elk Locations on S pecified S lope Percentages, S ubset 1 .... 35 Figure 19. Etolin Island, Elk Locations on S pecified S lope Percentages, Subset 2 .... 36 Figure 20. Etolin Island, Elk Locations on S pecified S lope Percentages, S ubset 3 .... 37 Figure 21. Etolin Island, Elk Locations on S pecified S lope Percentages, S ubset 4 .... 38 Figure 22. Etolin Island, Elk Locations on S pecified S lope Percentages, S ubset 5 .... 39 Figure 23. Etolin Island, Elk Locations on S pecified S lope Percentages, S ubset 6 .... 40 Figure 24. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to M anaged Lands .......................... 42 Figure 25. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to M anaged Lands, S ubset 1 ....... 43 Figure 26. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to M anaged Lands, S ubset 2 ....... 44 Figure 27. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to M anaged Lands, S ubset 3 ....... 45 Figure 28. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to M anaged Lands, S ubset 4 ....... 46 Figure 29. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in R elation to Managed Lands, Subset 5 ....... 47 Figure 30. Etolin Island, Elk Locations in Relation to M anaged Lands, S ubset 6 ....... 48 Figure 31. Zarem bo Island, Subset Areas............................................................................ 50 Figure 32. Zarem bo Island, Elk Density Locations for 2008 and 2009 ......................... 51 Figu re 3 3 . Z arem bo Island, Elk Density Locations: Autumnal Equinox to W inter S o ls tic e ......................................................................................................................................... 52 Figure 34. Zarem bo Island, Elk D ensity Rutting Locations .............................................. 53 Figure 35. Zarem bo Island, Elk Density Locations: W inter Solstice to Vernal Equinox ........................................................................................................................................................ 54 Figure 36. Zarem bo Island, Elk Density Locations: Vernal Equinox to Sum m er S