Seasonal Changes in Weight, Cecal Length, and Pancreatic Function of Snowshoe Hares
Smith RL, Hubartt DJ, Shoemaker RL. 1980. Seasonal Changes in Weight, Cecal Length, and Pancreatic Function of Snowshoe Hares. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 44(3):719-724
The snowshoe hare has attracted much attention among biologists because of its dramatic fluctuations in population density. The most plausible explanation of its 10-year cycle has been provided by Keith et al. Their research indicates that the decline in hare population density is triggered by hare-vegetation interaction; this is, bot the quantity and quality of available food become insufficient to support precrash densities. Once the decline has occurred, it is intensified and lengthened by predation, which is strongly inverse-density dependent. Therefore, the overall quality of food for hares must fluctuate in a 10-year cycle. Recently, Pease et al. documented significant between-year fluctuations in fat, protein, carbohydrate, and cation concentrations in snowshoe browse from Alberta.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Smith, Ronald; Hubartt, Dennis; Shoemaker, Russell
- Units
- CAKN , DENA , WRST , YUCH
- Keywords
- Diet, Growth, Lepus americanus, Mammals, Metabolism, Physiology, Small Mammals