Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Effects Of Forage Nutritional Quality (Energy And Protein) On Deer Acceptance Of Foods Containing Secondary Metabolites, Dale L. Nolte, Bruce A. Kimball, Kelly R. Perry, Juan J. Villalba, Frederick D. Provenza

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Deer foraging on tree seedlings is recognized as the most widespread detriment to reforestation efforts. Non-lethal approaches to reduce deer damage to seedlings are highly desirable. Avoidance of natural secondary metabolites contained in conifers may provide feasible means to develop non-lethal measures. Other studies have demonstrated that sheep and goats fed diets with high protein-to-energy ratios, or allowed to select between concentrates high in either energy or protein, ate much more of a high-terpene diet and of a high-tannin diet than when they were fed diets high in energy-to-protein ratios. Thus, manipulating foraging options for deer may impact their ability …