Sciences

This thesis focuses on the behavioural and morphological adaptations of moose to snow and climate: specifically, seasonal migration, habitat choice, and following behaviour, plus the relationships among morphology, climate, snow, and seasonality. I examine intake and availability of winter forage, and perform one of the first large-scale tests of a widely used optimal foraging model by videotaping free-ranging moose making their own choices. The study of seasonal migration and habitat choice showed that the effect of snow differs with variation in snow severity: in locations with large differences in snow depths in a short distance, snow depth is important, but in locations where snow depth is less variable, snow quality emerges as more important. The thesis is one of the first to use a new method to evaluate the importance of snow quality. Testing between competing hypotheses to explain morphology, the importance of snow was further emphasized relative to temperature and latitude. In snowier areas, moose had larger hooves and longer legs than expected from their size and age. Morphology both conformed to, an