MNRF studying drastic moose decline in northern Ontario
Ministry asking hunters to contribute DNA to help
A new provincial study hopes to shed some light on the status of northwestern Ontario's moose population.
The study, which is being run by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), is making use of GPS collars on moose and wolves, as well as teeth and flesh samples from any moose harvested in the region.
"During the 2000s, we experienced widespread declines in moose numbers across much of northern Ontario," said Brent Patterson, senior research scientist with the MNRF. "Overall it was only about 20 per cent, but those declines were variable."
"Some areas experienced much more drastic declines," he said. "In some parts of the northwest, those declines exceeded 50 per cent."
"Management unit 13, immediately around Thunder Bay, is an example of an area that that did experience a quite a dramatic decline."
Looking for solutions
Patterson said the number of moose tags issued for hunters in those areas was "drastically reduced," but that didn't lead to a "much sign of positive population growth."
"There's a issue there that's keeping the population from recovering, and we'd like to know what that is, and what solutions might help," he said.
That process includes using GPS collars which will allow the MNRF to keep a close eye on moose and wolves, and their movements.
"Certainly the wolf population in northern Ontario is very healthy and and sustainable," said Mark Ryckman, manager of policy and wildlife biologist with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.
"We know that wolves are year-round predators of moose, whereas for instance, black bears are really only competent predators of calf moose and really only in the first two or three weeks of their lives," he said. "The question becomes, what are wolf populations like and how do they compare?"
"We know from other recent research in Ontario that if a moose population is reduced beyond a certain level in an area that has high predator populations, it's entirely possible that even in the absence of licensed hunting, the high wolf population can maintain that moose population on a lower level and prevent it from really demonstrating any sort of improvement."
Patterson said the request for tooth and flesh samples will also lead to important information.
"We're very interested in who's doing the breeding," he said. "For example, some people would believe that in a moose population, it's just a few large mature bulls that are doing most of the breeding across the population, whereas another possibility is that all bulls of any age are participating in the breeding."
"Understanding how that works is important to implications for harvest management, because right now in in much of the northwest, the population is being managed to sort of preserve a large number of mature bulls in the population," Patterson said. "The thinking is that that's necessary to make sure that all the the cows are being bred each year, but if we undertake this work and discover that actually the breeding is more evenly spread out amongst the male segment of the population, then that would allow managers to be a bit more liberal with the harvest."
DNA recovered from tooth or flesh samples, he said, will allow the MNRF to determine if a harvested moose had fathered any other known moose in the population.
A 'holistic' look
Ryckman said the study, which will be conducted over the next few years, will provide a holistic look at moose ecology and population dynamics.
"That includes everything from predation to harvest levels, the health of the animals that are harvested, diseases and parasites, reproduction levels and survival, potentially impact of climate change and even habitat, for instance," he said. "So it's really going to be an all-encompassing research project."
As to possible solutions, Ryckman said it's too early to say, given not all the data is available. But, he noted, there are some measures the province could take.
"Some of the things that are within the [MNRF's] wheelhouse are, for instance, habitat," he said. "Do we have the amount and the type of habitat that we need to support the number of moose that we want, or the number of moose that we think we should have in a given area? So what impact do forest management practices have on the amount and the type of habitat?"
"What impact does the spraying of aerial herbicides by the forest industry have on the provision of moose habitat and the type of moose habitat? Again, something that is fully within the [MNRF's] wheelhouse and their ability to control."
"Obviously engaging Indigenous peoples and ensuring that their sustenance harvest is maintained and they can then continue to fulfil their needs as a community is important as well."
Ryckman also noted that anyone who encounters a moose or wolf with a radio collar over the coming years shouldn't treat those animals any differently.
"If it's an animal that they would have harvested regardless, then harvest it, please, because any change in behaviour by hunters is going to introduce a bias into the the results," he said. "We need hunters and trappers ultimately to treat those animals exactly the way they would if they weren't wearing a radio collar."