Forest Sciences Commons^™

White-Tailed Deer Antler Research: A Response To Demarais And Strickland, Ben Koerth, James Kroll

Faculty Publications

Demarais and Strickland presented several questions about the scope and validity of conclusions regarding predictability of mature antler size based on yearling antler size and produced a simulation model reported to demonstrate measurement bias in our 2008 study. We believe our conclusions were appropriate with our research hypothesis and demonstrated the assumed differential selection bias by hunters used in Demarais and Strickland was unwarranted. Demarais and Strickland provided no metadata to document the provenance of data used in their model and did not account for location, year, cohort, nutrition of research animals, or loss of individuals from their sample population …

Juvenile-To-Adult Antler Development In White-Tailed Deer In South Texas, James Kroll, Ben Koerth

Faculty Publications

Past studies using penned deer provide conflicting results on the age when reliable predictions about antler growth potential in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can be made. We captured wild whitetail males via aerial net gun on 12 ranches in 5 counties in south Texas, USA, from 1999 to 2007 to determine if a reliable juvenile-to-adult relationship in antler development existed. We individually marked and released captured animals at the trap site after we took antler and body measurements. We recaptured marked animals as possible in subsequent years or until we obtained final measurements after legal harvest. Amount of growth in …

Fine-Scale Genetic Structure And Social Organization In Female White-Tailed Deer, Christopher E. Comer, John Kilgo, Gino D'Angelo, Travis Glenn, Karl Miller

Faculty Publications

Social behavior of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can have important management implications.

The formation of matrilineal social groups among female deer has been documented and management strategies have been proposed based on this well-developed social structure. Using radiocollared (n = 17) and hunter or vehicle- killed (n = 21) does, we examined spatial and genetic structure in white-tailed deer on a 7,000-ha portion of the

Savannah River Site in the upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina, USA. We used 14 microsatellite DNA loci to calculate pairwise relatedness among individual deer and to assign doe pairs to …

Daily Movements Of Female White-Tailed Deer Relative To Parturition And Breeding, Christopher E. Comer

Faculty Publications

To assess how white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) herd demographics influence reproductive behaviors, we examined 24-h diel movements of female whitetailed deer relative to parturition and breeding in a low-density population with a near even sex ratio at the Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina. We conducted a series of intensive, 24-h radio-tracking periods of 13 females during spring and fall 2002. We compared daily range (ha), rate of travel (m/h), and distance between extreme daily locations (m), among the periods of pre-parturition and post-parturition and pre-, peak-, and post-rut. From pre-parturition to post-parturition, we observed decreases in diel range size …

Effects Of Controlled Dog Hunting On Movements Of Female White-Tailed Deer, Christopher E. Comer

Faculty Publications

Understanding the responses of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to controlled dog hunting can aid in the effective implementation of canine-assisted population management strategies. We examined the 24-h diel movements of 13 radio-collared female deer exposed to dog hunting on the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina, where regulated dog hunting has occurred since 1965. We compared diel home range size, rate of travel, and distance between extreme diel locations before, during, and after hunts from 14 September-14 December 2002. Die1 home range size (F2,91= 7.71, P < 0.001) and distance between extreme diel locations (F2,9l= 6.78, P = 0.002) on hunt day were greater than 10-day pre- and …