ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2012) — Based on ten years of fieldwork in the Tetons of Wyoming, WCS Conservation Biologist, University of Montana Professor and study author Dr. Joel Berger looked at whether body size of juvenile moose and maternal presence were related to survival of the young animals. In animals from elk to lizards and fish, size matters, and larger individuals enjoy a survival advantage. However, results of Berger’s study showed that for juvenile moose, body mass had no significant effect on overwinter survival. Maternal presence did.
The study appears in the early view section of the on-line edition of the journal Conservation Biology.
The study found that orphaned moose in their first winter were subjected to 8 to 47 times more aggression from adult moose than were young moose whose mothers were present. Overall, the survival of orphan calves was about 8 times lower than those with mothers.
Along with facing more aggression from kicking by adult females and being displaced from the best feeding areas, Berger theorized that orphans incur greater metabolic costs and expend more energy in deep snow. Why orphans were attacked more was not clear, but Berger raised the possibility that mothers were trying to maintain more resources for their own offspring.
Continued: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120823175350.htm
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