Skip to content

Moose Summer Diets Differed Between Three Areas of British Columbia

A wild moose cow and calf feeding beside the Bowron River in British Columbia
Research · Ecology

Moose (Alces alces) in three parts of north-central British Columbia, Canada ate different mixtures of plants during summer. A study of faecal DNA found substantial geographic variation, while differences between years and between early and late summer were not clearly established. Summer forage is biologically important because moose build fat reserves during this season that help offset winter energy deficits and are linked to winter survival.

The researchers collected 233 faecal samples during the summers of 2020, 2021 and 2022. DNA metabarcoding—sequencing mixed plant DNA from the faeces and matching it to reference sequences—targeted the ITS2 region in plant DNA. After unreliable identifications were excluded, 130 samples contained at least one reliable identification at family level and 119 at genus level.

Across these samples, the team detected 14 plant families and 18 genera. Most identified taxa belonged to Onagraceae, Betulaceae, Grossulariaceae, Rosaceae and Ericaceae. These groups include herbs, shrubs and trees eaten by moose.

Summer diets differed most between regions

The strongest differences were between the study areas. Variation between years was low, and the authors called for more sampling in early and late summer to clarify changes within the season. They also note that DNA metabarcoding has limitations when estimating the relative abundance of food plants, partly because plants differ in how their DNA survives digestion.

The authors recommend that forest managers take local summer diets into account, particularly where moose are a management priority or populations are declining. They caution against applying diet descriptions beyond the places and seasons in which the samples were collected.

Sources and image credit

  1. Dyck, A., Rea, R. V., & Kuzmina, M. (2026). Fecal DNA metabarcoding reveals spatial and temporal variation in the summer diets of moose (Alces alces) in north-central British Columbia. Forest Ecology and Management, 605, 123498.

Image: Moose cow and calf feeding in the Bowron River, British Columbia, July 2018. Benoit Brummer (Trougnouf) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Illustrative image. · CC BY 4.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Moose Alces alces Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.