Recipient Organization
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
108 M. WHITE SMITH HALL
AUBURN,AL 36849
Performing Department
FORESTRY & WILDLIFE SCIENCES
Non Technical Summary
Deer hunting is a major source of revenue for landowners and businesses in Alabama. Alabama is considered a premier deer hunting destination for hunters from other states, nonresident hunters spend millions of dollars in Alabama each year. For private landowners in Alabama, land leases for deer hunting can provide a significant source of supplemental income. In order to prescribe harvest and habitat management guidelines to effectively manage local deer populations, an understanding of the relationships among reproductive success of males, impact of breeding effort, and the relative role of supplemental food plots in deer nutrition is critical. In September, 2007, we will have completed construction of a 430-acre deer research facility that will enable us to intensively study a free-ranging (as logistically possible) population of uniquely identified white-tailed deer. This facility incorporates the control of a captive facility with the behavior of a free-ranging herd
that will enable us to address biological and management issues that we have previously been unable to address. As part of this facility, we will have two, 2-acre exclosures for determining optimal cropping systems for feeding deer, i.e., crop/forage plant material mixes, cropping sequences, tillage system, etc.
Animal Health Component
80%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
80%
Developmental
20%
Goals / Objectives
1. Determine the physical and genetic characteristics that influence reproductive success in adult, male white-tailed deer. 2. Examine the impact of breeding effort of adult, male white-tailed deer on condition and breeding success in subsequent years. 3. Determine optimal cropping systems for feeding deer in the Southeast.
Project Methods
In September, 2007, work will be completed on a 430-acre deer enclosure. Deer will be supplied ad libitum with supplemental feed at 5 feeding stations dispersed across the facility. In addition, deer will have access to native forage and forages available in food plots to ensure they are maintained on an adequate nutritional plane. Each year, all individuals in the population will be captured annually with nets prebaited with whole corn. At time of capture, we will collect body and antler measurements, as well as blood and tissue, and each deer will be aged. Tissue samples will be analyzed for 19 microsatellites, as well as characteristics of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which is considered a measure of genetic quality. Tissue samples will enable us to examine the genetic lineage of each deer by comparing microsatellite data among deer, and thus we will be able to determine parentage of each fawn that is born. By comparing reproductive success over a
three-year period with selected antler measurements and characteristics of the MHC, we will generate the first data to ever examine the factors that influence reproductive success of male white-tailed deer in a naturally-functioning population. We will assess breeding effort with a novel technique that would not be feasible in a free-ranging setting. At the time of initial capture, we will subdermally insert a passive integrated transponder (e.g., PIT tag) into each deer. These tags are similar to the identification technology used with domestic cats and dogs. At each feeding site, we will have a platform scale linked to a PIT tag reader. We will be able to remotely weigh animals, document animal identification, and record time and date. By measuring weight loss throughout the breeding season, we can assess relative effort expended by each male to obtain breeding rights. In addition to comparing breeding effort with breeding success, we will be able to compare annual changes in antler
and body size with reproductive effort during those years. Within the 430 acre high-fenced area at the Piedmont Substation, we have identified an upland and bottomland site to conduct our food plot system research. We have infrastructure funds from the AAES for two separate two-acre exclosures within the high fence facility, and bids are currently being accepted for construction of the exclosures. The exclosures will enable investigation of crop establishment factors with and without deer feeding pressure. Both cool and warm season feed/forage crops will be examined in a variety of plant material mixes, sequences, etc. for feeding deer. These cropping systems will be examined under both conventional tillage and no-till. Experiment design at the upland and bottomland site will be a split-plot with tillage (n = 2) as main plots and cropping system (n = 10) as subplots. Data collected will include deer preference via photography (infrared-triggered digital cameras), crop yield (biomass),
and crop quality (protein and energy content). The research site will not only be used to collect data, but will also serve as an outdoor teaching laboratory for students and for extension programming.