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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br />1 <br />t <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br />greater than for winter range. This has been found by a number of authors <br />(Kuck, et al, 1984; Lonner, 1979). It was also apparent that fidelity to <br />summer range was as great or greater than to calving areas. The amount of <br />fidelity to calving areas evidently varies a great deal in some areas. <br />Skovlin (1982) stated there seems to be little evidence of annually repeated <br />use of calving areas by specific cows beyond the normal happenstance of a herd <br />being at about the same locality during migration on successive years. How- <br />ever, he stated there were exceptions that show habitual use of calving areas <br />by certain cows. Kuck, et al, (1983) noted a high degree of fidelity to <br />calving areas and concluded that traditional use of calving areas by indivi- <br />dual cows suggests favorable conditions for calving are predictable and that <br />fidelity to these areas develops in response to predictable conditions. <br />Examination of Kuck's data indicates that fidelity to summer range is as great <br />as fidelity to calving areas based on distance between activity centers and <br />percentage of home range overlap. In many areas, elk calve during spring <br />migration and calving habitat probably depends largely on availability. Our <br />data seems to indicate that elk are showing fidelity to summer range rather <br />than specific calving areas. Elk in our study which summer at lower eleva- <br />tions were able to reach their summer range prior to calving and showed <br />greater fidelity to calving areas. Elk which summered at higher elevations <br />did not reach summer range areas before calving due to snow and plant pheno- <br />logy and showed less fidelity to calving areas. <br />Calving Habitat Utilization and Selection <br />Habitat utilization was determined by calculating the percentage of <br />transmitter collared elk locations within each vegetation type. Selection was <br />defined as the statistically significant utilization of a vegetation type <br />greater or less than its availability. As a result, availability had to be <br />determined. This was done in two ways as described in the methods section. <br />The first method determined habitat availability within the general region <br />(650 mil) and the second availability within the calving home range. Habitat <br />selection was then determined using chi-square analysis. <br />For purposes of comparison, elk were divided into 5 different groups (see <br />Appendix) similar to groups used for home range size and fidelity comparisons. <br />In addition, because of differences in the control group, it was divided into <br />-13- <br />1 <br />