Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Subsidize Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) During A Moose (Alces Americanus) Decline: A Case Of Apparent Competition?, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech Jan 2016

White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Subsidize Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) During A Moose (Alces Americanus) Decline: A Case Of Apparent Competition?, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Moose (Alces americanus) in northeastern Minnesota have declined by 55% since 2006. Although the cause is unresolved, some studies have suggested that Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) contributed to the decline. After the Moose decline, wolves could either decline or switch prey. To determine which occurred in our study area, we compared winter wolf counts and summer diet before and after the Moose decline. While wolf numbers in our study area nearly doubled from 23 in winter 2002 to an average of 41 during winters 2011–2013, calf:cow ratios (the number of calves per cow observed during winter …


Genetic Measures Confirm Familial Relationships And Strengthen Study Design, Stacie J. Robinson, Ryan D. Walrath, Timonthy R. Vandeelen, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2012

Genetic Measures Confirm Familial Relationships And Strengthen Study Design, Stacie J. Robinson, Ryan D. Walrath, Timonthy R. Vandeelen, Kurt C. Vercauteren

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Social structure and behavioral interactions between individuals shape basic biological processes, such as breeding; foraging and predator avoidance; movement and dispersal; and disease transmission. We used a targeted trapping strategy to capture kin groups of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during 2007 and 2008 in Sandhill Wildlife Research Area, Wisconsin, USA, in order to observe social behaviors. Because inferring family relationships from observation of behavior is subjective, we usedmeasures of genetic relatedness and parentage assignment tests to determine that our capture strategy was efficient for capturing related pairs (78% of groups contained 1 dyad of related animals). The results of …


Efficacy Of Proximity Loggers For Detection Of Contacts Between Maternal Pairs Of White-Tailed Deer, Ryan Walrath, Timonthy R. Vandeelen, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2012

Efficacy Of Proximity Loggers For Detection Of Contacts Between Maternal Pairs Of White-Tailed Deer, Ryan Walrath, Timonthy R. Vandeelen, Kurt C. Vercauteren

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contact frequency and duration estimates between individuals are important to understanding the behavioral ecology of wildlife species and the epidemiology of infectious diseases. A new technology uses proximity data loggers to record time and duration of contacts. We conducted an experiment at Sandhill Wildlife Management Area, located near Babcock, Wisconsin (USA) to compare probabilities of detecting intraspecific contacts among white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) maternal pairs (dams/fawns) based on detections from proximity loggers deployed on collars versus those obtained from direct observation. We defined 5 discrete probabilities of detection of a contact in terms of P (probability of detection …


Literature Review Of Mule Deer And White-Tailed Deer Movements In Western And Midwestern Landscapes, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Scott R. Groepper, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Chuck J. Frost, Justin R. Boner, Travis C. Kinsell, Gregory M. Clements Jan 2008

Literature Review Of Mule Deer And White-Tailed Deer Movements In Western And Midwestern Landscapes, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Scott R. Groepper, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Chuck J. Frost, Justin R. Boner, Travis C. Kinsell, Gregory M. Clements

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The relationships among seasonal change, population dynamics, social pressures, landscape dynamics, anthropologic disturbances, and behavioral ecology are complex. Therefore, migration and seasonal movements are poorly understood and dispersal continues to be one of the least understood aspects of animal ecology in North America. We reviewed scientific literature on movements of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) in western and midwestern landscapes to identify gaps in our knowledge and direct future research. We used electronic databases, library catalogs, Internet search engines, and peer-reviewed journals to conduct key word searches for pertinent articles. We found …


Wildlife Damage In The Suburbs: Conflicts In A Human-Wildlife Landscape, Rebecca Field Oct 2000

Wildlife Damage In The Suburbs: Conflicts In A Human-Wildlife Landscape, Rebecca Field

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

The sprawling communities surrounding cities pose a paradox for wildlife. Suburban habitat, with parks, greenways, and planned open spaces, provide attractive habitat with abundant resources for some wildlife species. Yet the landscape is dominated by human activities and disturbances. Species with little tolerance for human disturbance and habitat changes have difficulty maintaining their populations in suburban environments. Yet more adaptable species flourish in suburban areas where there are less predators, increased food resources, and abundant habitat for cover and raising young. The resulting overabundant wildlife populations pose increasing problems for biologists, wildlife damage practitioners, and the public. Management of urban …


Do Wolves Affect White-Tailed Buck Harvest In Northeastern Minnesota?, L. David Mech, Michael E. Nelson Jan 2000

Do Wolves Affect White-Tailed Buck Harvest In Northeastern Minnesota?, L. David Mech, Michael E. Nelson

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We used simple linear regression to analyze 8-23 years of data on a wolf (Canis lupus) population and human harvest of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) bucks in northeastern Minnesota to determine any effects of wolves on buck harvesting. Over the long term, wolves accounted for at least 14-22% inter-year variation in buck harvest in the region, but an unknown amount of variation in hunter effort have obscured any more precise estimate. For part of the area with poorest habitat, we found strong relationships (r2 = 0.66-0.84) between annual wolf numbers and buck harvests from 1988 …