Density and demography of snowshoe hares in central Colorado

To improve understanding of snowshoe hare ecology in the Southern Rockies and enhance the ability of agency personnel to manage subalpine landscapes for snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) and lynx (Lynx canadensis) in the region, we estimated snowshoe hare density, survival, and recruitment in west-c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of wildlife management 2014-05, Vol.78 (4), p.580-594
Main Authors: Ivan, Jacob S., White, Gary C., Shenk, Tanya M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abies lasiocarpa
Animal and plant ecology
Animal populations
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Colorado
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Demecology
Demography
density
Density estimation
Forest habitats
forest management
Forest stands
Forestry
Forests
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
General forest ecology
Generalities. Production, biomass. Quality of wood and forest products. General forest ecology
Hares
Lepus americanus
Lynx
Lynx lynx
Mammalia
Picea
Pinus contorta
Population Ecology
Rabbits
recruitment
snowshoe hare
Summer
survival
telemetry
Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife ecology
Wildlife management
Winter
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Summary:To improve understanding of snowshoe hare ecology in the Southern Rockies and enhance the ability of agency personnel to manage subalpine landscapes for snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) and lynx (Lynx canadensis) in the region, we estimated snowshoe hare density, survival, and recruitment in west-central Colorado, USA from July 2006-March 2009. We sampled 3 types of forest stands that purportedly provide good habitat for hares: 1) mature Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii)—subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), 2) early seral, even-aged lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), and 3) mid-seral, even-aged lodgepole pine that had been pre-commercially thinned. In all forest types and all seasons, snowshoe hare densities were < 1.0 hares/ha. During summer, hare densities [±SE] were highest in early serai lodgepole pine (0.20 [0.01] to 0.66 [0.07] hares/ha), lowest in mid-seral lodgepole pine (0.01 [0.04] to 0.03 [0.03] hares/ha), and intermediate in mature spruce-fir (0.01 [0.002] to 0.26 [0.08] hares/ha). During winter, densities were more similar among the 3 stand types. Annual survival of hares was highest in mature spruce-fir (0.14 [0.05] to 0.20 [0.07]) and similar between the 2 lodgepole stand types (0.10 [0.03] to 0.16 [0.06]). Stand attributes indicative of dense cover were positively correlated with density estimates and explained relatively more spatial process variance in hare densities than other attributes. These same attributes were not positively correlated with hare survival. Both density and survival of hares in early serai lodgepole stands were positively correlated with the extent of similar stands in the surrounding landscape. Recruitment of juvenile hares occurred during all 3 summers in early serai lodgepole stands, 2 of 3 summers in mature spruce-fir stands, and in only 1 of 3 summers in midseral lodgepole. Based on estimates of density and demography specific to each forest type, we conclude that managers should maintain mature spruce-fir and early serai lodgepole stand types rather than thinned, midseral lodgepole stands to benefit snowshoe hares (and by association lynx) in central Colorado. Given the more persistent nature of spruce-fir compared to early serai lodgepole, and the fact that such stands cover considerably more area, mature spruce-fir may be the most valuable forest type for snowshoe hares in the region.
ISSN:0022-541X
1937-2817
DOI:10.1002/jwmg.695