Figure 3 : Digestible Energy (kJ/g dry matter) for each preferred species for a moose during the summer sampling periods, separated by month and by habitat type where each sample was collected.
Overall, digestible energy decreased by 50% (June mean = 19.37 kJ/g DM, SE = 1.96, August mean = 14.07 kJ/g DM, SE = 3.21, p < 0.0001) between June and August for the Alphabet Hills (Table 1). Average digestible energy was not significantly different between habitat types (burned mean = 14.87 kJ/g DM, SE = 4.25, forested mean = 15.42 kJ/g DM, SE = 4.32), but the interaction between habitat type and month (F = 215.7, p < 0.0001) as well as habitat type and species were both significant (F = 2.86, p < 0.0001). We also found a significant difference in year; 2018 had an average DE of 17.04 kJ/g DM (SE = 3.06) while 2019 had an average of 13.33 kJ/g DM (SE = 4.46, p < 0.0001).