DO CONTINENTAL MOOSE RANGES IMPROVE DURING CLOUDY SUMMERS

We determined differences in forage quality and observed food and habitat selection by radio-collared moose (Alces alces) in southeastern Norway during the summers of 1986 and 1987. June weather was sunny during 1986 and cloudy and wet during 1987. In the most important browse species (Betula sp.), leaf tannin content was lower and the protein: dry matter ratio higher in 1987 than in 1986. Habitat use did not differ significantly between the two summers. During 1987, use of grasses (graminoids) was significantly greater and moose showed a tendency toward greater usage of the most common plant species. The changes in forage quality and choice of plant species by moose during 1987 strengthen earlier assumptions, based on weight comparisons, the continental moose ranges improve during cloudy, wet summers.