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Winter feeding by Porcupines in montane forests of southwestern Alberta

1979; Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club; Volume: 93; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5962/p.346997

0008-3550

Lawrence D. Harder,

Indigenous Studies and Ecology

Past feeding on the inner bark of Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) by Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) was examined on two areas of southwestern Alberta.Measurements of annual growth from increment cores were used to estimate the previous sizes of trees.In conjunction with the ages of feeding scars, these estimates provided a means of determining the physical characteristics of the trees used by Porcupines over a 20-yr period.Of the three community types available to Porcupines, pure stands of Douglas Fir in leeward situations were preferred.Although Porcupines fed in the larger, faster growing trees within this community on both study areas, the average diameter of the boles of used trees differed between study areas.This may be related to a possible relaxation of the preference for larger trees on the more extensively used area.