Daily movements of female white-tailed deer relative to parturition and breeding.

Conference · Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2005 · Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Fish and Wildl. Agencies

OSTI ID:859307

D'Angelo, Gino J ^[1]; Comer, Christopher E; Kilgo, John C; Drennan, Cory D; Osborn, David A; Miller, Karl V

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1. USDA Forest Service, Savannah River

Abstract: 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 (–38.2%), distance between extreme diel locations (–17.0%), and diel rate of travel (–18.2%). Diel range size, distance between extreme diel locations, and diel rate of travel during the pre-rut and rut exceeded those observed during post-rut. We further identified substantial increases in mobility during 12 24-h diel periods for eight females during our fall monitoring. Our data suggest that female white-tailed deer reduce mobility post-fawning following exaggerated movements during pre-parturition. Furthermore, despite a near equal sex ratio, estrous does may be required to actively seek potential mates due to low population density.

• Research Organization: USDA Forest Service, Savannah River, New Ellenton, SC
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE - Office of Environmental Management (EM)
• DOE Contract Number: AI09-00SR22188
• OSTI ID: 859307
• Report Number(s): na; 04-33-P
• Journal Information: Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Fish and Wildl. Agencies, Journal Name: Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Fish and Wildl. Agencies Vol. 58
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
BREEDING
DEER
FEMALES
MONITORING
Odocoileus virginianus
PARTURITION
POPULATION DENSITY
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SEX RATIO
SOUTH CAROLINA
White-tailed deer
breeding
movements
parturition
rut