Elk (Cervus elaphus) search for food through snow in winter in the Rocky Mountains.
Elk (Cervus elaphus) and other ungulates in the Rocky Mountains of North America must cope with food shortages and severe weather during winter. The strength of density-dependence in these ungulate populations has been found to increase with increasing temporal variation in winter weather, most likely because of decreased carrying capacity in habitats due to the increased energy required to find food. Spatial variation in food resources has been found to have the opposite effect in the same populations: increased spatial variation weakens density-dependence, possibly due to herbivores exploiting spatial variation to feed selectively. This photograph originally appeared on the cover of Ecology (87:1) in January of 2006.
| Primary or BEN resource type | |
|---|---|
| Format | |
| Temporal and geographic description | Rocky Mountains, USA. |
| Core Concepts | |
| Drought & Water-Ecosystem Services Collection | Off |
| Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection | Off |
| Big Data Collection | Off |
| Editor's Choice | No |
| Audience | |
| Pedagogical Use Description | This photograph could be used to illustrate ungulate grazing, elk, periods of food shortage, severe weather, variability in food availability over time and in space, or as an example of density-dependence that is affected by exterior factors. |
| Keywords | browse, food, food availability, winter, weather, snow, density dependence |
| Key taxa | Elk, Cervus elaphus |
| Life science discipline (subject) | |
| Primary Author Controlled Name | |
| Primary Author Affiliation | Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Centre for Plant Quarantine Pests |
| Primary Author email | GillBD@inspection.gc.ca |
| Rights | Copyright 2006 by the Ecological Society of America. |
| Date Of Record Submission | 2008-04-07 |
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