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Estimation of snowshoe hare population density from turd transects

1987; NRC Research Press; Volume: 65; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1139/z87-087

1480-3283

Charles J. Krebs, Benjamin Gilbert, Stan Boutin, Rudy Boonstra,

Amphibian and Reptile Biology

We counted the number of snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) fecal pellets on 50 quadrats of 0.155 m 2 on each of six areas near Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, once a year from 1977 to 1983. On four of these areas we livetrapped hares once a month and estimated population density from the Jolly–Seber model. Average hare density for the year was linearly related to fecal pellet counts (r = 0.94) over the range 0–10 hares/ha. Mean turd counts also are related to the variance of these counts by Taylor's power law with exponent 1.30, indicating a clumped pattern in turd deposition. Fecal pellet counts provide a quick and accurate method for snowshoe hare censuses on an extensive scale.