Food Habits of Snowshoe Hares in Interior Alaska

Abstract

Food habits of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) near Fairbanks, Alaska [USA] were determined by microscopic analysis of stomach contents. The winter diet consisted primarily of spruce needles and the bark and twigs of birch, willow, spruce and alder. Blueberry, lowbush cranberry, fireweed and horsetail made up 47% of the spring diet; and leaves of birch, willow, rose and other deciduous shrubs made up 76% of the summer diet. Similarity and trophic diversity indices indicated a great diet diversity during the summer than during the winter, which appeared to be related to the greater variety of plant species available. Diets of Alaskan snowshoe hares were compared with those of hares from other geographical regions.