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My research focuses on two ungulate species: the Columbia black-tailed deer and the Roosevelt Elk. Underlying my research into their scat densities and their relationship with differing dominant vegetation, is how these two species have adapted to resource partitioning within their similar niches. I look to touch on how nutritional availability changes throughout the year within the plant cells of their preferred food, as well as their differing nutritional needs. I also look to explore how not only nutrition but also predation affects their behaviour in choosing habitats, as well as how this predator pressure may influence their fitness. The understory of the forest in coastal BC is dense with fern, salal and huckleberry which give deer a year round source of food and cover, but during the winter they must share this habitat with the elk. In spring and summer the elk tend to stick to meadows to eat grasses and sedges and are constantly migrating in order to sustain their nutritional needs. Deer also venture out into the open to use these areas mostly under the cover of darkness when predators are present in the environment. I am looking to investigate to what extent the elk use the grassy riparian areas opposed to the forest, and to what extent black tailed deer share this habitat and the forest with them.
The conservation of the Roosevelt elk populations on Vancouver Island is of great importance to not only the biodiversity of BC but also for ecological stability, anthropogenic economic benefit, and indigenous cultural importance. The preservation or creation of habitat is not only the responsibility of the province but also the forestry industry. More research should be done to see if seral stages or alternative stable states that would increase elk habitat could be allowed to develop by forgoing the application of silvicultural methods that suppress important food sources.
Keywords: Resource partitioning, niche breadth, competition, diet diversity, seral stages.
Very thoughtful post. Think about whether you are really testing nutrition when you go to write up your research paper. There is some known information about nutrient contents of different plants, though you may have to measure what they are actually eating to really get at nutrition, which would be way beyond a study for this course! As well, keep in mind that you are measuring resource partitioning in one part of the year and there could be other alternatives to explain your patterns (e.g. security cover). You may need to think through some of these concepts a bit more for the discussion in your paper. Overall, I like your study design and the thought you put into the post.