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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Sterilization As An Alternative Deer Control Technique: A Review, Jason R. Boulanger, Paul D. Curtis, Evan G. Cooch, Anthony J. Denicola
Sterilization As An Alternative Deer Control Technique: A Review, Jason R. Boulanger, Paul D. Curtis, Evan G. Cooch, Anthony J. Denicola
Biology Faculty Publications
Burgeoning white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations in suburban landscapes continue to impact communities and challenge natural resource managers. Increased deer-related damage to vegetation, ecosystems, and automobiles can exceed the tolerance of local stakeholders. We provide an overview of the potential efficacy of using surgical sterilization to help manage populations and conflicts associated with locally overabundant white-tailed deer populations. We review theoretical and fi eld studies pertaining to deer sterilization, and provide research priorities to help guide future sterilization efforts. Recent fi eld studies suggest that sterilization of female deer remains expensive, at approximately $1,000 per surgery. Sterilization may …
Spatial Ecology Of White-Tailed Deer Fawns In The Northern Great Plains: Implications Of Loss Of Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands, Troy W. Grovenburg, Robert W. Klaver, Jonathan A. Jenks
Spatial Ecology Of White-Tailed Deer Fawns In The Northern Great Plains: Implications Of Loss Of Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands, Troy W. Grovenburg, Robert W. Klaver, Jonathan A. Jenks
Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications
Few studies have evaluated how wildlife, and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in particular, respond to Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands. We conducted a 3-year study (2007– 2009) to determine the influence of CRP on fawn ecology during a time of declining CRP enrollment. We captured and radiocollared 81 fawn white-tailed deer during 15 May to 15 June 2007–2009 in north-central South Dakota, collected 6,505 locations, and documented 70 summer home ranges. Mean summer home ranges increased temporally during 2007–2009 (P < 0.001) and corresponded to a 41% loss of CRP grasslands in the area (2.3% loss in land cover and approx. 21% loss in cover habitat in the study area) over the duration of the study. Additionally, mean movement between daily locations increased (P < 0.001) from 2007 to 2009. Analysis of covariance models indicated that change in CRP influenced home-range size, and change in CRP and wheat influenced daily movement. Smaller home ranges and reduced movements were associated with greater quantity of CRP available to fawns, and increased movements were associated with more acreage of wheat available to fawns. Fawns shifted resource selection during the summer at a mean age ranging from 48.8 days to 58.6 days, and this shift was associated with height of corn (83–87 cm). During early summer, fawns consistently selected for CRP; selection of wheat progressed temporally from avoidance in 2007 to selection in 2009. During late summer, fawns consistently selected for corn habitat and used CRP at least in proportion to its availability. Reduction in CRP-grasslands seemed to increase fawn home-range size and daily movements and, influenced change in resource selection to wheat. Current legislation mandates continued decrease in CRP enrollment and concomitant increase in the planting of corn for ethanol production. Management of habitat throughout the grasslands of the Northern Great Plains that maximizes cover habitats would provide neonates with adequate cover for protection from predators.
The Role, Size, And Effectiveness Of Safety Zones For Creating Refuges For White-Tailed Deer, Jacob L. Bowman
The Role, Size, And Effectiveness Of Safety Zones For Creating Refuges For White-Tailed Deer, Jacob L. Bowman
Human–Wildlife Interactions
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are overabundant in many areas, particularly in more developed landscapes where refuges may provide additional challenges for deer managers. Refuges have been widely used to sustain breeding stock in harvested populations and to mitigate other sources of mortality. As the landscape becomes more urbanized, local municipalities and states have implemented safety zones to reduce the probability of a hunter’s projectile from accidentally striking a building or its inhabitants. I evaluated if mandated safety zones in Delaware may constitute unintentional refuges. I used Delaware’s land-cover data to created buffers (i.e., 46, 91, and 183 m) …
Sterilization As An Alternative Deer Control Technique: A Review, Jason R. Boulanger, Paul D. Curtis, Evan G. Cooch, Anthony J. Denicola
Sterilization As An Alternative Deer Control Technique: A Review, Jason R. Boulanger, Paul D. Curtis, Evan G. Cooch, Anthony J. Denicola
Human–Wildlife Interactions
Burgeoning white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations in suburban landscapes continue to impact communities and challenge natural resource managers. Increased deer-related damage to vegetation, ecosystems, and automobiles can exceed the tolerance of local stakeholders. We provide an overview of the potential efficacy of using surgical sterilization to help manage populations and conflicts associated with locally overabundant white-tailed deer populations. We review theoretical and fi eld studies pertaining to deer sterilization, and provide research priorities to help guide future sterilization efforts. Recent fi eld studies suggest that sterilization of female deer remains expensive, at approximately $1,000 per surgery. Sterilization may …
Deer-Activated Bio-Acoustic Frightening Device Deters White-Tailed Deer, Aaron M. Hildreth, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Kurt C. Vercauteren
Deer-Activated Bio-Acoustic Frightening Device Deters White-Tailed Deer, Aaron M. Hildreth, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Kurt C. Vercauteren
USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications
White-tailed deer damage urban and suburban plantings as well as crops and stored feed. A high public demand exists for non-lethal control methods. Several frightening devices are available for deer and all can be categorized as auditory, visual, tactile, and biological. Several problems exist with frightening devices, including: effectiveness, acclimation, cost, and acceptance. We tested the efficacy of a frightening device that played pre-recorded distress calls of adult female white-tailed deer when activated by an infrared motion sensor. Potential benefits of the device are that deer are less likely to acclimate to animalactivated and infrequently projected calls and that distress …
Genetic Measures Confirm Familial Relationships And Strengthen Study Design, Stacie J. Robinson, Ryan D. Walrath, Timonthy R. Vandeelen, Kurt C. Vercauteren
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
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 …