Gogan and Barrett found that dietary overlap between tule elk (Cervus elaphus nannodes) and Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) was greatest when low quality forage was abundant and least when high quality forage was abundant. Fecal nitrogen was lowest when dietary overlap was greatest, indicating that forage quality influences the amount of dietary overlap compared to forage abundance. During the wet winter months, when dietary overlap was lowest, fecal nitrogen levels were highest and vegetative standing crop was lowest. In contrast, the dry summer months, when dietary overlap was highest, had the lowest fecal nitrogen levels and the highest standing crop. Fecal nitrogen levels, an indicator of seasonal diet quality, were similar for both species throughout the study.
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