Progress 03/01/00 to 09/30/04
Outputs
The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is the most popular game animal in the United States but is also responsible for a large amount of damage to agricultural crops. Understanding how deer use agricultural landscapes on a small scale will facilitate management. As a first step to understanding deer use of agricultural areas, we have refined chemical immobilization protocols to capture deer. Using chemical immobilization to capture 16 female white-tailed deer at Chesapeake Farms, Kent County, Maryland, we attached Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry collars during 2 summer growing seasons (10 in 2001 and 6 in 2002). Twelve collars collected usable data and collar success averaged 90 and 86 percent in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Mean adaptive kernel home-range sizes (25.22 ha in 2001 and 39.36 ha in 2002) did not differ between years (p = 0.14). Mean core areas (3.12 ha in 2001 and 6.28 ha in 2002) were larger in 2002 (p = 0.04). A habitat selection
analysis was performed to determine which habitats were selected more or less than others during the soybean growing season. Habitat use pooled across all deer was different from random in both years (p < 0.0001). Habitat use differed among individual deer (p < 0.0001). Agricultural crops were among the most selected habitats in both years. In 2001, corn ranked first and soybeans ranked fourth. In 2002, corn and soybeans were selected equally and ranked third. Other important habitats included wooded and early successional areas. Selection of clover ranked comparatively low. To assess temporal use of selected habitats throughout the growing season, we calculated percentage of daily deer locations occurring in corn fields, soybean fields, clover plots, early successional areas, and wooded areas. Deer use of natural cover and food sources declined as use of crops increased. Temporal use patterns of some habitats changed between 2001 and 2002, which was likely related to a drought the
second year. Reducing deer damage to agricultural crops while maintaining a healthy deer population requires an integrated strategy that incorporates both deer harvest and habitat management. Considering deer use of an agricultural landscape on a small scale will assist managers in abating damage and providing quality deer hunting opportunities.
Impacts
White-tailed deer are an important component of our natural heritage. Deer provide many economic benefits through hunting and wildlife watching. Unfortunately, deer overabundance has caused many new management challenges. Our research is significant because we are describing powerful new approaches to quantify deer damage. We expect to provide the tools for managing herds and making land use decisions in order to reduce the economic impact of deer to America's farmers. We expect our approach will allow efficient and objective measurement of deer damage. These measurements will then be used to manage deer populations and agricultural lands in a sustainable manner. Our research is needed for sound deer and land management directed at sustainable and profitable farming operations.
Publications
- Miller, B.F., L.I. Muller, T. Doherty, D.A. Osborn, K.V. Miller, and R.J. Warren. 2004. Effectiveness of antagonists for tiletamine-zolazepam/xylazine immobilization in female white-tailed deer. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 40:533-537.
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is the most popular game animal in the United States but is also responsible for a large amount of damage to agricultural crops. Understanding how deer use agricultural landscapes on a small scale will facilitate management. Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry collars were attached to 16 female white-tailed deer at Chesapeake Farms, Kent County, Maryland, during 2 summer growing seasons (10 in 2001 and 6 in 2002). Twelve collars collected usable data and collar success averaged 90 and 86 percent in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Mean adaptive kernel home-range sizes (25.22 ha in 2001 and 39.36 ha in 2002) did not differ between years (p = 0.14). Mean core areas (3.12 ha in 2001 and 6.28 ha in 2002) were larger in 2002 (p = 0.04). A habitat selection analysis was performed to determine which habitats were selected more or less than others during the soybean growing season. Habitat use pooled across all deer was
different from random in both years (p < 0.0001). Habitat use differed among individual deer (p < 0.0001). Agricultural crops were among the most selected habitats in both years. In 2001, corn ranked first and soybeans ranked fourth. In 2002, corn and soybeans were selected equally and ranked third. Other important habitats included wooded and early successional areas. Selection of clover ranked comparatively low. To assess temporal use of selected habitats throughout the growing season, we calculated percentage of daily deer locations occurring in corn fields, soybean fields, clover plots, early successional areas, and wooded areas. Deer use of natural cover and food sources declined as use of crops increased. Temporal use patterns of some habitats changed between 2001 and 2002, which was likely related to a drought the second year. Reducing deer damage to agricultural crops while maintaining a healthy deer population requires an integrated strategy that incorporates both deer
harvest and habitat management. Considering deer use of an agricultural landscape on a small scale will assist managers in abating damage and providing quality deer hunting opportunities.
Impacts
White-tailed deer are an important component of our natural heritage. Deer provide many economic benefits through hunting and wildlife watching. Unfortunately, deer overabundance has caused many new management challenges. Our research is significant because we are describing powerful new approaches to quantify deer damage. We expect to provide the tools for managing herds and making land use decisions in order to reduce the economic impact of deer to Americas farmers. We expect our approach will allow efficient and objective measurement of deer damage. These measurements will then be used to manage deer populations and agricultural lands in a sustainable manner. Our research is needed for sound deer and land management directed at sustainable and profitable farming operations.
Publications
- Adams, K.A. 2003. Fine-scale habitat use related to crop depredation by female white-tailed deer in an agricultural landscape. Thesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
- Miller, B.F., L.I. Muller, T.N. Storms, E.C. Ramsay, D.O. Osborn, R.J. Warren, K.V. Miller, K.A. Adams. 2003. A comparison of carfentanil/xylazine to Telazol/xylazine for immobilization of white-tailed deer. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 39:851-858.
- Miller, K.V., and L.I. Muller, and S. Demarais. 2003. White-tailed deer. Pages 906-930 in G.A. Feldhammer, B.C. Thompson, and J.A.Chapman, eds., Wild Mammals of North America, 2nd ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
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Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is the leading species associated with wildlife damage to agriculture. Surrounding land use, habitat interspersion, and deer movement among habitats may affect feeding intensity in crop fields. Temporal changes in food availability, vegetation structure, and plant growth stage may also influence soybean use by deer. Fine-scale deer movements and use of surrounding habitat can only be determined with accurate animal locations. Therefore, we tracked 16 adult (> 1 year old) does in an agricultural area (Chesapeake Farms, Chestertown, MD) using GPS tracking collars (GPS-2000 Lotek Engineering) in 2001(n = 10) and 2002 (n = 6). Collars obtained locations every two hours throughout the soybean growing season. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) we developed multiple spatial and temporal variables for deer locations in soybean fields related to adjacent cover and food sources, edge characteristics, and crop growth stage.
Significant variables will be used to develop a predictive model to identify crop fields at the greatest risk for deer damage. Understanding how deer utilize agricultural landscapes on a small scale will facilitate integrated management of deer populations and surrounding habitats. Reducing deer density is the best way to attenuate deer damage; however, significant depredation losses can occur even at low densities. Farmers may be able to modify land use practices around cash crops to reduce the impact of deer. We expect this research will promote sound deer management, profitable agriculture and quality hunting opportunities.
Impacts
White-tailed deer are an important component of our natural heritage. Deer provide many economic benefits through hunting and wildlife watching. Unfortunately, deer overabundance has caused many new management challenges. Our research is significant because we are describing powerful new approaches to quantify deer damage. We expect to provide the tools for managing herds and making land use decisions in order to reduce the economic impact of deer to America's farmers. We expect our approach will allow efficient and objective measurement of deer damage. These measurements will then be used to manage deer populations and agricultural lands in a sustainable manner. Our research is needed for sound deer and land management directed at sustainable and profitable farming operations.
Publications
- Miller, B. F., K. A. Adams, L. I. Muller, T. N. Storms, E. C. Ramsay, D. O. Osborn, R. J. Warren, K. V. Miller. 2002. Efficacy of carfentanil-xylazine for immobiliztion of white-tailed deer. Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting. 23rd Annual Meeting. Mobile, Alabama. p. 28.
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Progress 01/01/01 to 12/31/01
Outputs
Agricultural damage caused by white-tailed deer is an important and controversial issue in many regions of the United States. To alleviate conflicts between deer and agriculture, we must understand factors affecting crop damage such as microhabitat-scale temporal and spatial movements by deer in agricultural ecosystems. During winter of 2001, we fit 10 adult (> 1.5 years) does with GPS-tracking collars at Chesapeake Farms, Chestertown, Maryland. We concentrated on the philopatric female population segment to obtain movement and habitat use data representative of local deer responsible for crop depredation. Collars were programmed to store locations every 20 minutes for 2-hour intervals at sunrise and sunset and every 2 hours at other times. We expect frequent, accurate (with 1-m) locations during feeding will allow us to quantify deer use of agricultural fields. Collars are currently being collected during the regular hunting season. We have preliminary location
data from 2 deer. The location fixes were >94% successful. One collar collected 2,164 locations during 25 March - 23 June 2001. The second collar stored 4,482 locations during 25 March - 21 September 2001. These locations will be compared to soybean yield estimated and geo-referenced using combines outfitted with yield monitors and GPS units. We will quantify the relationship between deer damage to soybeans and spatial variables such as size and shape of field and surrounding lande/use habitat types. Combined with aerial remote sensing of plant biomass, we expect our data will provide State Agencies with innovative tools to objectively and efficiently assess deer damage and direct management actions to agricultural system integrity and quality hunting opportunities.
Impacts
White-tailed deer are an important component of our natural heritage. Deer provide many economic benefits through hunting and wildlife watching. Unfortunately, deer overabundance has caused many new management challenges. Our research is significant because we are describing powerful new approaches to quantify deer damage. We expect to provide the tools for managing herds and making land use decisions in order to reduce the economic impact of deer to America's farmers. We expect our approach will allow efficient and objective measurement of deer damage. These measurements will then be used to manage deer populations and agricultural lands in a sustainable manner. Our research is needed for sound deer and land management directed at sustainable and profitable farming operations.
Publications
- Rosenberry, C.S., L.I. Muller, and M.C. Conner. 2001. Movable, deer-proof fencing. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29:754-757.
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Progress 01/01/00 to 12/31/00
Outputs
There are growing concerns about deer-caused damage to agricultural production. We have purchased 12 global positioning system (GPS) tracking collars to monitor accurate deer movements in agricultural areas. These collars will be placed on deer before the next soybean-growing season. We must understand the relationship between field size, shape, and surrounding habitats on deer movements and use of soybeans. This information will be used to guide sound deer management and reduce human-deer conflicts.
Impacts
Concerns about possible effects of overabundant deer populations on agriculture will continue. Our research will address quantification of deer damage and will be directed at solutions for our nation's farmers. Our research will provide information critical for management that considers the short- and long-term needs of farmers, deer, and the use of deer as a natural resource.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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