Is summer food intake a limiting factor for boreal browsers? Diet, temperature, and reproduction as drivers of consumption in female moose.

摘要: Food intake may limit the ability of browsing mammals to gain body mass during growing season when leaves and stems woody plants are most abundant. Moose highly productive browsers with high demands for energy nutrients, particularly lactation. Using an indigestible marker, we estimated dry matter free ranging adult female moose without calves over three seasons. During same period, analyzed forage quality. Intakes were highest in late spring (280 ± 19 g·kg-0.75·d-1) quality peaked; however, intakes declined by 39% throughout summer as temperatures increased acid detergent fiber content browse increased. Digestibility from 71% 57% among browse. similar calves. Heat loads impair consume sufficient nutrients. Warming habitat change can adversely affect browser populations poor qualities low combine suppress digestible