scholarly journals Mineral Lick Visitation by Mountain Goats, Oreamnos americanus

2010 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford G. Rice
Keyword(s):  
Short Duration ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Mineral Licks ◽  
Mountain Goat ◽  
Administrative Units ◽  
Mineral Lick

Many species, including Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus), are known to visit mineral licks, but the extent and duration of use are poorly understood because most studies consist of observations at licks. I studied the movements to, from, and near mineral licks of 11 mountain goats in Washington wearing Global Positioning System (GPS) collars for a total of 169 goat-months of tracking and evaluated chemical composition of six mineral licks compared with reference soil samples. I recorded 101 mineral lick visits to 13 mineral licks. Each GPS fix was classified as moving toward a mineral lick, in the vicinity of a lick, on an excursion from a lick, moving away from a lick, or not associated with lick use. Depending on annual movement patterns associated with lick use, each Mountain Goat was classified as a Migrant (single lick visit of long duration, n = 3 Mountain Goats), Sojourner (few visits of short duration, n = 2), Commuter (many visits of short duration, n = 5), or Resident (lick within normal range of movements, n = 1). Most mineral lick visits took place 01 June-15 August with peak visitation about 14 June-29 July. Migrants typically stayed in the vicinity of licks about a month (but as long as 51 days) whereas other mountain goats visited licks for 0.1-8 days (median = 1 day). Migrants also tended to take longer and move farther than other Mountain Goats when on movements to and from licks. Most Mountain Goats moved toward mineral licks faster (km/hr) than they moved away from licks. All licks had higher concentrations of sodium than reference samples (1.5-27 times as high), although concentrations of calcium, potassium, and sulphate tended to be higher as well, whereas magnesium was not. Mineral lick visitation has costs (energetics of travel, reduced forage, and predation risk). Depending on the importance of these costs, mountain goats evidently use various strategies for exploiting mineral licks as exemplified by the movement types (migrant, sojourner, commuter, or resident). Notably, most of the Mountain Goats in this study crossed national forest, county and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife region boundaries to another to visit mineral licks. Thus, coordination among administrative units is needed in management of Mountain Goats and mineral licks they use.

Wintering strategies by mountain goats in interior mountains

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim G. Poole ◽  
Kari Stuart-Smith ◽  
Irene E. Teske
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Habitat Model ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Juvenile Mortality ◽  
Winter Range ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Selection For

As with many ungulates inhabiting areas with potentially deep snow, winter is an important season for mountain goats ( Oreamnos americanus (de Blainville, 1816)) and is characterized by restricted movements and high juvenile mortality. We examined winter habitat selection and wintering strategies by mountain goats in two adjacent areas of southeastern British Columbia characterized by deep, moist snow and by shallow, dry snow. Fifteen GPS collars were placed on mountain goats in each area over two winters. Winter-range size did not differ between areas and comprised, on average, 2.2%–7.4% of male home range and 8.0%–14.1% of female home range. Topographic variables dominated habitat model selection. At the broad scale, mountain goats in both areas selected winter ranges closer to escape terrain on warmer aspects that contained lesser amounts of mature dense forest. At the fine scale, mountain goats in both areas selected rugged habitat at upper mid-elevations and on warmer aspects. Alpine areas were avoided in the deep snow area and selected in the shallow snow area. No selection for mature forests was observed in either area. Mountain goats, therefore, appeared to utilize open, high-elevation habitats in shallow snow zones, but they did not seek reduced snow levels in mature forest stands in deep snow areas.

scholarly journals Seasonal Habitat Use and Movements of Mountain Goats, Oreamnos americanus, in East-central British Columbia

2003 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim G. Poole ◽  
Douglas C. Heard
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
East Central ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mineral Licks ◽  
Forest Use

To identify the potential for adverse effects of forest development on Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus), we documented the patterns of forest use by goats and the factors influencing goat habitat use. We used a combination of 15 very high frequency (VHF) and six global positioning system (GPS) radiocollars to document the distribution and movements of 21 (15 female, 6 male) goats from 1997 to 1999 in the mountains surrounding the Robson Valley in east-central British Columbia. Because canopy closure reduces the likelihood that a GPS receiver will obtain a location fix, we estimated that GPS collars underrepresented forest use by about 23%. Three goats used separate winter and summer ranges separated by 8–13 km, while most simply exhibited seasonal shifts in elevation. In winter, goats were more often at lower elevations, in commercial forest stands, on southerly aspects, and moved less each hour and over the course of the winter. Goat use declined in areas >500 m from escape terrain and goats were found lower in elevation from evening to dawn compared to daylight hours. Collared goats used high elevation licks, which were either within their home range, or in two cases, 6 and 14 km from their typical home range. We documented use of known mid-elevation mineral licks by three collared goats, but no use of known low elevation (valley bottom and lower slopes) mineral licks. Robson Valley goats appeared to be at relatively low risk from disturbances related to logging, because although forest use was documented during winter, it occurred primarily on high elevation, steep slopes where trees are currently of low commercial value, and goats made little use of low elevation mineral licks. We recommend that in this area a forested buffer of 500 m around cliffs be left to reduce the possibility of adverse effects on goats especially, on southerly aspects above 1300 m.

Agonistic behavior among mountain goats foraging in winter

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 2585-2588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Masteller ◽  
James A. Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Agonistic Behavior ◽  
Dominance Order ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Average Group ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mineral Licks ◽  
Average Group Size

During two winters we studied agonistic behavior of foraging mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) in both natural and manipulated conditions. By maintaining food pellets at bait site we tested two hypotheses: (i) dominant goats will have primary access to the food, and (ii) kids of dominant nannies will have access to the food with their mothers. At the bait site, average group size was larger and goats in each sex–age class were more aggressive compared with those away from the site. The dominance order among sex–age classes at the bait was similar to that reported at mineral licks, except that 2-year-old males dominated adult females. When goats fed at the bait site, adult females with kids were very aggressive and nanny–kid distances decreased. At the bait, an orphan kid received much aggression, while kids with their mothers received few threats. At the bait site, dominant goats had primary, but not exclusive, access to the bait and kids fed with their mothers, which supported our hypotheses.

Resource limitation in mountain goats: a test by experimental cropping

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 228-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Houston ◽  
V. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Density Dependence ◽  
National Park ◽  
Resource Limitation ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Olympic National Park ◽  
Fat Reserves ◽  
Goat Population ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat

Changes are reported in the population dynamics and physical condition of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) following a reduction in their density at Olympic National Park, Washington, U.S.A. The goat population showed density-dependent responses in initial breeding ages and in litter size. Production and recruitment of kids were more variable at high densities, and these population attributes may show nonlinear density dependence. These shifts in dynamics were associated with increases in live weights and, possibly, in fat reserves. The density dependence shown was insufficient to compensate for removals that approximated the initial production of young, and goat numbers declined precipitously. The implications of these relationships to mountain goat ecology are examined.

Reproductive success in female mountain goats

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 2956-2961 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Observational Studies ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Intrinsic Factors ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat

Kid production by marked females, age ratios from a 24-year study, and the literature are used to evaluate hypotheses that three intrinsic and three extrinsic factors affect reproduction by female Rocky Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus). On Sheep Mountain – Gladstone Ridge, Colorado, mountain goat age ratios declined while the herd grew during 1966–1979, and continued to decline with population stability during 1980–1989, suggesting a continued increase in ecological density of goats 39 years after they were introduced in 1950. Among intrinsic factors, age and persisting individual characteristics have influenced reproductive success of females. Reproductive success in any year has not limited success in the following year, except in 4-year-olds. Among extrinsic factors, reproductive success of female mountain goats has been negatively influenced by density or ecological density and by snowpack during gestation. Reproductive success of females may have been positively influenced by snowpack that enhanced forage conditions prior to breeding. The relative importance of these six factors in determining reproductive success of females may vary among and (temporally) within herds. Most hypotheses regarding reproductive success in female mountain goats remain poorly tested. Short-term observational studies hold little promise for testing hypotheses, owing to large among-years variation in reproductive success. Long-term, intensive observational studies, or manipulative experiments, are suggested.

scholarly journals Does reduced heterozygosity influence dispersal? A test using spatially structured populations in an alpine ungulate

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron B. A. Shafer ◽  
Jocelyn Poissant ◽  
Steeve D. Côté ◽  
David W. Coltman
Keyword(s):  
Population Monitoring ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Potential Cost ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat

Despite having a profound effect on population dynamics, the reasons that animals disperse are poorly understood. Evolutionary explanations have focused on inbreeding and competition, where the potential cost of philopatry is negated through dispersal. Such scenarios lead to the prediction that less successful individuals preferentially disperse, termed ‘fitness-associated dispersal’. Since heterozygosity is associated with fitness, we assessed whether dispersed animals had less observed heterozygosity ( H O ) than residents. We tested this prediction using both genetic and population-monitoring data of mountain goats ( Oreamnos americanus ). Individuals classified as dispersers through cross-assignment had the lowest mean H O , followed by residents, and then admixed individuals. Dispersed individuals had 6.3 per cent less H O than their subpopulation of origin. In the long-term study of the mountain goat herd at Caw Ridge, Alberta, immigrants had the lowest H O ; however, the opposite pattern was seen in emigrants, which may be related to density dependence. This study is the first to provide empirical evidence that heterozygosity is associated with dispersal.

Mountain goat recruitment: kid production and survival to breeding age

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Festa-Bianchet ◽  
Martin Urquhart ◽  
Kirby G. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Grizzly Bears ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Felis Concolor ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat

During a 5-year study of a marked population of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) in west-central Alberta, 5 of 17 females produced their first kid at 4 years of age, while most females did not reproduce until 5 years of age. Twinning accounted for 2% of births. Survival of kids to 1 year averaged 60%, and survival of females from 1 to 4 years of age was 52%. Most deaths of kids occurred in September–November and appeared due to predation by wolves (Canis lupus), cougars (Felis concolor), and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos). At least half of the yearlings lost from the population were preyed upon, but losses of 2-year-olds were concentrated in the summer, suggesting emigration. Survival rates of young goats were not different according to sex. We suggest that nutrient availability limits the reproductive performance of the goats by retarding their growth, while predation on young goats is a major source of mortality.

Geophagic behavior in the mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus): support for meeting metabolic demands

2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (8) ◽  
pp. 599-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.L. Slabach ◽  
T.B. Corey ◽  
J.R. Aprille ◽  
P.T. Starks ◽  
B. Dane
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
High Fidelity ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Nutrient Supplementation ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Mineral Supplementation ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat ◽  
Coastal Mountain

Geophagy, the intentional consumption of earth or earth matter, occurs across taxa. Nutrient and mineral supplementation is most commonly cited to explain its adaptive benefits; yet many specific hypotheses exist. Previous research on mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus (Blainville, 1816)) broadly supports nutrient supplementation as the adaptive benefit of geophagy. Here, we use data from an undisturbed population of mountain goats inhabiting a geologically distinct coastal mountain range in southwestern British Columbia to test the hypothesis that geophagic behavior is a proximate mechanism for nutrient supplementation to meet metabolic demands. Our population, observed for over 30 consecutive years, returned each year with high fidelity to the same geophagic lick sites. Logistic regression demonstrated an overall effect of sodium and phosphorus, but not magnesium and calcium, on lick preferences. These data, in conjunction with field observations, provide support for the hypothesis that geophagy provides nutrient supplementation and that geophagy may be an obligate behavior to meet necessary metabolic demands within this population. The implications of our results suggest the necessity to preserve historically important habitats that may be necessary for population health.

Glutathione peroxidase activity and selenium levels in Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and mountain goats

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 2493-2496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Samson ◽  
Jon T. Jorgenson ◽  
W. D. Wishart
Keyword(s):  
Glutathione Peroxidase ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Selenium Deficiency ◽  
Bighorn Sheep ◽  
Ovis Canadensis ◽  
Domestic Sheep ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat

Selenium levels and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity were determined in the blood of wild and captive herds of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), as well as in one wild mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) herd. No significant relationship was established between blood selenium and GSH-Px activity for individual herds of bighorns, but when all herds were pooled, selenium was significantly (P < 0.01) correlated with GSH-Px. The hypothesis that bighorn sheep would exhibit higher GSH-Px activity per unit of blood selenium than domestic cattle was not supported. One bighorn population had blood selenium levels below those considered deficient in domestic sheep, yet exhibited no clinical signs of selenium deficiency. A blood selenium by GSH-Px relationship did not exist for the single mountain goat herd sampled. The seven blood samples collected from mountain goats did not differ from those from bighorn sheep in their GSH-Px activity relative to blood selenium levels.

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