Life Sciences Commons^™

Quantifying The Impacts And Assessing The Permeability Of A Divided Four-Lane Highway On Migratory Mule Deer, Daniel P. Taylor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Increased human development and expansion has led to an ever-growing transportation network, which has both direct and indirect ecological impacts to local wildlife populations. In response, wildlife crossing structures have become an increasingly fundamental component of wildlife conservation throughout the United States. The focus of this study was a 13.5 km section of US Highway 395, Mono County, California. The California Department of Transportation recently identified this section of highway, hereafter known as the Mammoth Wildlife Crossing, as the highest priority location for wildlife crossing structures along US 395 within Mono County. The goal of this study was to use …

Cougar Predation Behavior In North-Central Utah, Dustin L. Mitchell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Today’s ability to apply global positioning systems (GPS) collars to wild animals and track their movements, without inadvertently disrupting their daily routine, is a major benefit to wildlife research. Cougars are carnivorous predators that have been identified as being one of several possible causes for recent mule deer population declines throughout the Western United States. Past cougar predation studies have relied on snow tracking, radio-collar tracking, and modeling techniques to estimate cougar prey use and predation rates. These methods rely heavily on weather conditions, logistical availabilities, and broad assumptions, which have led to a wide range of predation rate estimates. …

Effects Of Coyote Removal On Pronghorn And Mule Deer Populations In Wyoming, Dylan Earl Brown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

I studied the relationship between coyote (Canis latrans) removal and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) density and fawn:doe ratios in southwest Wyoming and northeast Utah in 2007 and 2008. Coyote removal variables studied included the number of coyotes removed, ground hours worked, total hours worked, coyotes removed/aerial gunning hour, coyotes removed/ground work hour, and coyotes removed/total effort hour. None of the variables explained changes observed in fawn:doe ratios of pronghorn or mule deer. The number of coyotes removed, ground hours worked, total hours worked, and coyotes removed/aerial gunning hour were positively …

An Analysis Of A Measure Of Productivity In Mule Deer Populations, Ronald J. Ryel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the fall proportion of fawns among fawns and does in a mule deer population and two measures of productivity, the spring recruitment rate and the reproductive performance as measured in the fall. The spring recruitment rate was defined to be the number of fawns per doe which were recruited into the population at 1 year of age. The reproductive performance was defined to be the number of fawns produced per doe 2 years or older which survive to a specified time. The relationships between these quantities were measured by …

Influence Of Spring Sheep Grazing On The Forage Intake And Quality Of Diets Consumed By Pen-Reared Mule Deer Under Winter-Range Conditions, Kenneth Owen Fulgham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the nutritional responses of mule deer during winter on range subjected to a system of spring livestock grazing. The specific purposes were 1) to determine the quality (crude protein, digestible energy, and digestibility) of diets consumed by mule deer in winter on ranges grazed and ungrazed by sheep in spring, 2) to determine the level of forage intake, as determined by the external indicator chromic oxide, for deer under the same grazing regimes, 3) to compare forage intake estimates determined by the external indicator (chromic oxide) with results obtained by ocular estimation, and 4) to determine the …

Reduced Recruitment In Utah Mule Deer Relative To Winter Condition, Phillip J. Zwank

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Reduced recruitment rates in Utah mule deer (Odocoilus hemionus) showed that significant losses in production were accruing during pregnancy, the neonatal period or during the first few months after birth. The primary objectives of the study were to determine the time, extent and possible causes of these losses.

Corpora luteal and fetal rates were estimated by examining the reproductive tracts of 125 carcasses collected on selected herd units in Utah and by observing the reproductive tracts of 136 female deer captured in Spanish Fork Canyon. A laparotomy was performed on each captured female to allow visual examination of the reproductive …

Forage Preferences Of Mule Deer In The Lodgepole Pine Ecosystem, Ashley National Forest, Utah, Joseph A. Deschamp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the summer of 1976, five tame, trained mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) were used to determine botanical composition and relative preference of mule deer diets on five habitat segments in the lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) ecosystem of northeastern Utah. Diets were statistically analyzed according to estimated weight consumption per unit of time spent feeding on the different segments. Habitat segments sampled were: clearcut forest, dry and wet meadow, mature forest, and stagnated forest.

Diets differed between segments mainly because of differences in plant species available and their abundance. The diets in the non-forested segments averaged …

Mule Deer Use Patterns As Related To Pinyon-Juniper Conversion In Utah, Ted L. Terrel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Objectives were (1) to evaluate the seasonal and daily use by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) of adjoining converted and natural pinyon pine-Utah juniper woodland (P-J) winter range, and (2) to determine the major factors influencing mule deer use of converted P-J range to provide criteria for deer management. The study was conducted on 3 sites in central, eastern, and southeastern Utah between 1969-72. Data for 1969-72 on physiographic, climatic, and vegetational attributes of the three Utah study areas were related to data from approximately 10,000 deer observations, 5,000 0.01-acre pellet-group count plots, feeding observations of 1,100 deer, 220 …

The Abundance, Migration And Management Of Mule Deer In Dinosaur National Monument, Robert W. Franzen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dinosaur National Monument, in northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah, is comprised of 206,409 acres and contains several deer winter ranges. A need for deer studies developed because of winter deer mortality and deteriorating range conditions on some parts of the Monument.

Approximately 500 deer winter on the Yampa Bench and approximately 300 deer winter on the Island Park winter range. These are the two main winter ranges within the Monument.

Deer on the Yampa Bench migrated an average of 7.3 air miles to the south and summered on the Blue Mountain Plateau during the summer of 1966. This Plateau is …