Effects of moose, Alces alces, on aquatic vegetation in Sibley Provincial Park, Ontario.

Abstract

Exclosures developed a dense growth of plants. In one, species palatable to moose were much more abundant than in unprotected areas. The other lake supported very little vegetation outside the exclosure. Aquatic vegetation in a large preferred lake underwent a series of changes from the 1960s to 1980. Nuphar variegatum and Potamogeton filiformis largely disappeared, leaving the lake sparesely vegetated in some years and dominated by annuals in others. With recent reductions in moose activity, Nuphar is becoming re-established. In the 23 lakes studied, N. variegatum was absent or scarce in areas heavily used by moose, but P. foliosus, an annual, was most common in such sites.-from Authors