Aug 10, 2015 - ABSTRACT The potential for interspecific competition for food resources is a key ... the key niche axes with respect to interspecific competition.
The Journal of Wildlife Management 79(8):1277–1285; 2015; DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.946
Research Article
Dietary Overlap and Potential Competition in a Dynamic Ungulate Community in Northwestern Canada THOMAS S. JUNG,1 Yukon Department of Environment, P.O. Box 2703, Whitehorse, Y1A 2C6, Yukon, Canada SHANNON A. STOTYN, Environment Canada, 91780 Alaska Highway, Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 5X7, Canada SOPHIE M. CZETWERTYNSKI,2 Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 751 General Services Building, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H1, Canada
ABSTRACT The potential for interspecific competition for food resources is a key consideration when newly
introduced ungulates occupy a shared range with resident native species. Management plans in Yukon, Canada, for reintroduced bison (Bison bison) and introduced elk (Cervus canadensis) called for an assessment of competition for food resources between these species and resident populations of caribou (Rangifer tarandus), thinhorn sheep (Ovis dalli), and moose (Alces americanus). To assess potential competition among ungulates, we examined dietary overlap of 7 ungulate species in southwestern Yukon, Canada. We compared diet composition at the forage class level and composite diet indices (diversity, evenness, and niche breadth) among species found at 2 elevation classes (high [1,200 m ASL] and low [
