2008 Alaska Park Science Symposium
October 14, 2008
Fission and Fusion in Muskox Groups
Claudia Ihl1, Perry Barboza2
1Northwest Campus, University of Alaska, University of Alaska Northwest Campus, Pouch 400, Nome, AK, USA, Phone 907-443-8417, Fax 907-443-5602, ftci@uaf.edu
2Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7000, USA
We investigated group formation and group sizes in a free-ranging muskox (Ovibos moschatus) population in northwest Alaska, USA, between June and September, 2002. Seasonal habitat use by muskoxen shifted from dryas (Dryas spp.) and hummock slopes in early summer towards strips of sedge meadow during rut. Dryas, hummock and tussock habitats were spatially unbounded because they ran continuously over many km2, while sedge meadows and willow thickets were spatially bounded to narrow strips in drainages and along beaches. Muskox groups decreased in size from winter to summer to rut. Muskoxen foraging efficiency (percent of active animals feeding) decreased with group size in spatially unbounded habitats, but not in spatially bounded habitats. Adult males contributed least to group cohesion. Group sizes were unrelated to percentage of males in the group during summer, but the presence of adult males may contribute to group fission during rut. We present a conceptual model in which we discuss how habitat, foraging, social behavior, and predation contribute to the fission and fusion of muskox groups.
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