Patch-use dynamics by a large herbivore

Table 1 Summary statistics on returns for cow elk, summer 2012

	n	% unreturned	#UnRet (SingleRet)	Avg returns	MAXReturns	Avg # singles	Avg return rate (no singles)
E144	111	20.72	23 (4)	5.22	11.00	1.10	11.96
E146	118	24.58	29 (6)	2.06	5.00	0.29	12.66
E159	117	6.84	8 (3)	3.14	7.00	0.80	20.24
E164	117	11.97	14 (7)	3.29	7.00	1.20	24.82
E170	96	15.63	15 (8)	3.21	9.00	0.83	15.54
E172	105	8.57	9 (4)	3.67	10.00	0.90	13.17
E173	104	31.73	33 (9)	2.49	7.00	0.65	9.24
AVG	109.71	17.15		3.30		0.82	15.38
SD	8.36	9.03		1.00		0.30	5.39

Across 7 cow elk, an average of 109.7 clusters per animal was detected in GPS relocations from summer 2012. An average of 17% of these clusters, presumed foraging patches, were unreturned to, however the percentage of patches unreturned to drops 2.6-8.7% when including single fix returns over the season which were not immediately considered foraging returns. The average number of returns per cluster, as well as maximum number of returns recorded, are presented for each animal and then averaged for the population. The “average return rate” is the average number of days between return events, not including singles and not accounting for differences in time known to the individual.

ISSN: 2051-3933