One of the few empirical studies is Yarmoloy et al. Security cover obviously modulates this impact but the quality of security cover is difficult to evaluate. Wapiti show a remarkable range of responses to human disturbance. In some areas they relocate to distant ranges, in others such as the mountain parks they use town sites and even pose a threat to visitors. Little is known about how these patterns are fixed and how animals generalize stimuli and habituate to them.
Spatial memory is another critical issue.
Bailey et al. There still are few ways to study energy balance under field conditions. Indigestible plant components are useful markers for estimation of intake, digestibility and ultimately energy balance. Dosing known quantities of n-alkanes of a chain length adjacent to those naturally occurring in herbage provides excellent opportunities for estimating intake of individual wapiti. Pairing of adjacent alkanes obviates errors associated with incomplete recovery.