scholarly journals Mineral Lick use by Gps Radio-Collared Mountain Goats in Southeastern British Columbia

2010 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim G. Poole ◽  
Karl D. Bachmann ◽  
Irene E. Teske
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mineral Lick

scholarly journals Seasonal Habitat Use and Movements of Mountain Goats, Oreamnos americanus, in East-central British Columbia

2003 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim G. Poole ◽  
Douglas C. Heard
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
East Central ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mineral Licks ◽  
Forest Use

To identify the potential for adverse effects of forest development on Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus), we documented the patterns of forest use by goats and the factors influencing goat habitat use. We used a combination of 15 very high frequency (VHF) and six global positioning system (GPS) radiocollars to document the distribution and movements of 21 (15 female, 6 male) goats from 1997 to 1999 in the mountains surrounding the Robson Valley in east-central British Columbia. Because canopy closure reduces the likelihood that a GPS receiver will obtain a location fix, we estimated that GPS collars underrepresented forest use by about 23%. Three goats used separate winter and summer ranges separated by 8–13 km, while most simply exhibited seasonal shifts in elevation. In winter, goats were more often at lower elevations, in commercial forest stands, on southerly aspects, and moved less each hour and over the course of the winter. Goat use declined in areas >500 m from escape terrain and goats were found lower in elevation from evening to dawn compared to daylight hours. Collared goats used high elevation licks, which were either within their home range, or in two cases, 6 and 14 km from their typical home range. We documented use of known mid-elevation mineral licks by three collared goats, but no use of known low elevation (valley bottom and lower slopes) mineral licks. Robson Valley goats appeared to be at relatively low risk from disturbances related to logging, because although forest use was documented during winter, it occurred primarily on high elevation, steep slopes where trees are currently of low commercial value, and goats made little use of low elevation mineral licks. We recommend that in this area a forested buffer of 500 m around cliffs be left to reduce the possibility of adverse effects on goats especially, on southerly aspects above 1300 m.

Year-round patterns of mineral lick use by Moose (Alces americanus), deer, and Elk (Cervus canadensis) in north-central British Columbia

2021 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-374
Author(s):  
Carolyn Brianna Brochez ◽  
Roy V. Rea ◽  
Shannon M. Crowley ◽  
Dexter P. Hodder
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
North Central ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Cervus Canadensis ◽  
Mineral Licks ◽  
Alces Americanus ◽  
Mineral Lick

Natural mineral licks are important to the physiological ecology of several species of ungulates in North America and abroad. Information on year-round patterns of mineral lick use by ungulates in Canada is poorly understood. We used camera traps to record patterns of mineral lick use by four ungulate species visiting five naturally occurring mineral licks located within the John Prince Research Forest and surrounding area, near Fort St. James, British Columbia, Canada. Our cameras detected over 1800 mineral lick visits by ungulates from February 2017 to January 2018. Mineral licks were visited year-round, however, most visits were made between May and September during morning hours. We observed variable lick visitations among sites, species, and sex and age classes. The species observed in descending number of lick visits included Moose (Alces americanus), White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Elk (Cervus canadensis), and Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Some licks were visited by all four species, while others were visited by fewer. Female ungulates were recorded at licks more frequently than males or juveniles, which likely reflected the underlying sex and age structure of the population. Elk spent more time at licks than Moose and deer and there was no difference in visit durations between Moose and deer. Most visits were made by single animals, but group visits were also observed. Our findings provide evidence that mineral licks are used year-round by ungulates and appear to be important habitat features on the landscape.

scholarly journals Mineral Lick Visitation by Mountain Goats, Oreamnos americanus

2010 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford G. Rice
Keyword(s):  
Short Duration ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Mineral Licks ◽  
Mountain Goat ◽  
Administrative Units ◽  
Mineral Lick

Many species, including Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus), are known to visit mineral licks, but the extent and duration of use are poorly understood because most studies consist of observations at licks. I studied the movements to, from, and near mineral licks of 11 mountain goats in Washington wearing Global Positioning System (GPS) collars for a total of 169 goat-months of tracking and evaluated chemical composition of six mineral licks compared with reference soil samples. I recorded 101 mineral lick visits to 13 mineral licks. Each GPS fix was classified as moving toward a mineral lick, in the vicinity of a lick, on an excursion from a lick, moving away from a lick, or not associated with lick use. Depending on annual movement patterns associated with lick use, each Mountain Goat was classified as a Migrant (single lick visit of long duration, n = 3 Mountain Goats), Sojourner (few visits of short duration, n = 2), Commuter (many visits of short duration, n = 5), or Resident (lick within normal range of movements, n = 1). Most mineral lick visits took place 01 June-15 August with peak visitation about 14 June-29 July. Migrants typically stayed in the vicinity of licks about a month (but as long as 51 days) whereas other mountain goats visited licks for 0.1-8 days (median = 1 day). Migrants also tended to take longer and move farther than other Mountain Goats when on movements to and from licks. Most Mountain Goats moved toward mineral licks faster (km/hr) than they moved away from licks. All licks had higher concentrations of sodium than reference samples (1.5-27 times as high), although concentrations of calcium, potassium, and sulphate tended to be higher as well, whereas magnesium was not. Mineral lick visitation has costs (energetics of travel, reduced forage, and predation risk). Depending on the importance of these costs, mountain goats evidently use various strategies for exploiting mineral licks as exemplified by the movement types (migrant, sojourner, commuter, or resident). Notably, most of the Mountain Goats in this study crossed national forest, county and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife region boundaries to another to visit mineral licks. Thus, coordination among administrative units is needed in management of Mountain Goats and mineral licks they use.

scholarly journals Variation in age of primiparity in mountain goats estimated from horn growth increments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad François Rice ◽  
Benjamin Larue ◽  
Marco Festa-Bianchet
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Growth Increments ◽  
Horn Growth ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Coastal Mountain

Variation in age of primiparity is important for population dynamics and wildlife management because it can affect population growth. Using a novel technique based on the trade-off between annual horn growth and reproduction, we estimated the age of primiparity for 2274 female mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus, de Blainville 1816) harvested across British Columbia, Canada, from 1976 to 2019. We then investigated spatio-temporal variation in the probability that harvested females were primiparous when aged three, four or five years and older using Bayesian ordinal regressions. We found that the probability of primiparity at three years decreased over time in nearly all mountain ranges. In the Coastal Mountain range, however, the probability of primiparity at age three significantly increased. These results suggest that the large coastal populations of mountain goats could be more resilient to harvest than other populations in British Columbia, which may be experiencing environmental effects promoting later primiparity. Models predicting age of primiparity from annual growth measures are a valuable tool for wildlife management and could help conservation of many species.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document