The importance of natural mineral licks to moose on Isle Royale
Risenhoover KL and Peterson RO. 1987. The importance of natural mineral licks to moose on Isle Royale. Swedish Wildlife Research Supplement. 1:781-784
Chemical analyses and preliminary observations of mineral lick use by moose at Isle Royale suggest that natural licks are an important source of sodium and possibly sulfur. On Isle Royale, lick use is mot limited to the summer period. Although preliminary observations suggest lick use is heaviest from late May to early June, moose continue to use licks year round including winter. In view of these observations, the authors reject the hypothesis of previous workers (see Belovsky and Jordan, 1981) that aquatic plants are the only significant source of sodium for mosoe, and conclude that mineral licks on Isle Royale are of considerable ecological significance.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Risenhoover, Kenneth; Peterson, Rolf
- Units
- ISRO
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, mineral licks, Moose (Alces alces), sodium