FACTORS AFFECTING DETECTABILITY OF MOOSE ALCES ALCES DURING THE HUNTING SEASON IN NORTHERN NORWAY
Abstract
The use of hunter observations of moose (Alces alces) to index variation in population size and structure is based on the assumption that there is a monotonic relationship between moose seen per hunter-day and population size of moose. For this relationship to also be proportional, the probability of detecting a given moose should increase proportionally with the number of hunters and days hunting; i.e., a doubling of the number of hunter-days should double the probability of detecting a moose. Moreover, to obtain a precise index, the index should be independent of moose reproductive status, date of hunting season, weather conditions, and hunting area. We examined the influence of these factors on the probability of detecting individually radio-collared moose in a population in northern Norway. Our results support a proportional relationship between the number of moose seen and the number of hunters observing them. Moreover, we found no difference in observation rate among female moose in relation to the number of calves following them. However, large variation existed in the proportion of possible moose observed by different hunting teams. This can result in varying observation rates between years in situations where large annual variation exists in the number of days hunted by each hunting team. We therefore recommend that the pooling of observation data should be performed over a more carefully selected period of the hunting season (e.g., the first hunting week) rather than over the whole hunting season.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.