More Like this

1. Economic returns and the perceived obstacles to adopting active management in the forest-grassland transition ecoregion in south-central USA

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118225  

   Mishra, Bijesh; Joshi, Omkar; Masters, Ronald E.; McKinney, Caleb; Adhikari, Arjun; Zou, Chris B.; Will, Rodney E. (October 2023, Journal of Environmental Management)

   Forest-grassland ecotones are a mosaic of grassland, savanna, and upland forest. As such, landowners may have opportunities to choose to manage their lands for multiple objectives. We estimated the economic returns from managing forest and rangeland in southeastern Oklahoma, USA to produce different combinations of timber, cattle forage, and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) browse for a 40-year period. We further conducted a survey to understand landowner perceptions of obstacles to adopting active management that involve timber harvest and prescribed fire. The highest net return was obtained from the treatment with harvested timber that was burned every four years (uneven-aged woodland/forest) because it had the greatest gross return from a combination of timber (46%), cattle forage (42%), and deer browse (11%). The return from this treatment was greater than that for managed for timber only (closed-canopy forest) or prioritizing cattle and deer (savanna). Survey results suggested that landowners were aware of the benefits of active management but that the majority (66%) considered cost a major obstacle in the management of their forest or rangeland. In particular, women forestland owners and older landowners considered cost an obstacle. Our findings advocate integrated timber, cattle, and deer management as the best economic strategy within the forest-grassland ecotone and for targeted outreach and landowner education related to the benefits of active management. 

   more » « less
2. Forage quantity and protein concentration changes across a forest-savanna gradient with management implications for white-tailed deer

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2023.120987  

   McKinney, Caleb M.; Masters, Ronald E.; Adhikari, Arjun; Mishra, Bijesh; Joshi, Omkar; Zou, Chris B.; Will, Rodney E. (June 2023, Forest Ecology and Management)

   White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) hunting is an important economic activity associated with the management of forests and rangelands in the USA, with over $12.9 billion dollars of related annual expenditures. Reducing tree cover through thinning and prescribed fire both have the potential to increase the quantity and quality of deer forage. We evaluated the long-term impacts of eight different combinations of fire return intervals and tree harvest on forage productivity and protein content of the forage. Based on management regime, study units ranged from savanna to closed-canopy forest. Aboveground net primary production (ANPP) of six functional groups (grass, panicum, forb, legume, woody, sedge) of understory vegetation was measured in October 2019 and 2020 using destructive sampling. Samples for foliar crude protein (CP) concentration were collected in spring, summer, and fall of 2020. Total understory ANPP ranged from 2.9 to 466.3 g m− 2 and was up to 566% greater in savanna systems maintained by frequent fire (return interval of three years or less) than in non-burned forest treatments. Annual burning resulted in ANPP dominated by herbaceous plants composed mostly of firetolerant grasses (e.g., Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium). Longer fire return intervals or no fire resulted in roughly equal ANPP from understory woody and herbaceous species. Crude protein concentrations were up to 45.7% greater in the woodland and forest units than in the savanna units for seven of the eleven species sampled. The greater CP in the forests was most noticeable in the summer when deer needs for quality forage are substantial. Increased protein concentrations of understory species in the forests, but greater ANPP in the savannas indicate that managing for a mix of savanna and woodland could be ideal for balancing forage quantity with increased forage protein. 

   more » « less
3. Perceptions, concerns, and management of white-tailed deer among municipal officials

   https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2021.1959963  

   Edelblutte, Émilie; Short Gianotti, Anne G.; Connors, John P. (August 2021, Human Dimensions of Wildlife)

   null (Ed.)

   Municipal governments are emerging as important stakeholders in managing the populations and geographic distributions of whitetailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in urban and suburban areas of the Northeastern United States. To understand the variation in municipal- level concerns about deer and municipal policies related to deer management, we distributed a questionnaire to all 351 municipalities across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2017 (response rate = 74%) and collected data on local bylaws that influence hunting access. We found that concerns about deer vary across the state and some municipalities are taking action to manage increasing deer populations. In particular, our analysis established the importance of deer and deer management in the suburban regions of Massachusetts, while uncovering many local differences within similar suburban areas. The varying relationships between deer populations, public concerns, and municipal actions illustrated the complex role of municipal decisionmakers in shaping wildlife management programs. 

   more » « less
4. Scraping Network Analysis: A Method to Explore Complex White-tailed Deer Mating Systems

   Hearst, Scoty; Streeter, Sharron; Justin Hannah, Justin; Taylor, George; Shepherd, Sylmia; Winn, Bryce; Mao, Jinghe (January 2021, Southeastern naturalist)

   Applegate, Roger (Ed.)

   Abstract - Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer) are social animals that thrive in rural and urban settings. Scraping behavior is an olfactory reproductive communication used by White-tailed Deer to establish breeding networks. Male scraping is a complex scent-marking behavior which advertises sociosexual status and location to potential females as well as to competing males. Female scraping behavior is thought to be an estrus signal alerting males during times of optimal fertility. This study describes a new method to examine White-tailed Deer mating systems using social network analyses of scraping behavior using an urban population of White-tailed Deer as a model. First, we validated the scraping behavior at our study site in Tougaloo, MS, during the 2019–2020 breeding season. Using remote monitoring, we continuously documented scraping behaviors over 8 different scrape-site locations and found similar behavioral, temporal, and spatial patterns in our urban breeding network as reported in rural and captive deer studies. Next, we describe methods detailing how social network analyses can reveal sociality, dominance, importance, and social structure within male scraping networks. Using centrality measures, we were able to rank dominant male influencers, anticipate social conflict among rivals, and made predictions regarding the spread of communicable diseases through a male scraping network. We also detail network analyses combining both male and female scraping behavior to reveal a glimpse into the complexity of breeding networks. Using network measures, we were able to rank males based on competitiveness and female preference. Lastly, we generated a theoretical breeding network to explore female sociability, competitiveness, preference, and mate choice. Taken together, this work describes a new method using scraping network analysis to investigate the complexity of White-tailed Deer breeding networks. This work also demonstrates the future applications of this method for predicting the spread of communicable diseases and for predicting mate selection within White-tailed Deer mating systems. 

   more » « less
5. Deer Vigilance and Movement Behavior Are Affected by Edge Density and Connectivity

   https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.13574  

   Bartel, Savannah_L; Hakkila, Leotie; Orrock, John_L (May 2025, Ethology)

   ABSTRACT Animal behavior is an important component of individual, population, and community responses to anthropogenic habitat alteration. For example, antipredator behavior (e.g., vigilance) and animal movement behavior may both be important behavioral responses to the increased density of habitat edges and changes in patch connectivity that characterize highly modified habitats. Importantly, edge density and connectivity might interact, and this interaction is likely to mediate animal behavior: linear, edge‐rich landscape features often provide structural connectivity between patches, but the functional connectedness of patches for animal use could depend upon how edge density modifies animal vigilance and movement. Using remote cameras in large‐scale experimental landscapes that manipulate edge density (high‐ vs. low‐density edges) and patch connectivity (isolated or connected patches), we examined the effects of edge density and connectivity on the antipredator behavior and movement behavior of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Deer vigilance was 1.38 times greater near high‐density edges compared to low‐density edges, regardless of whether patches were connected or isolated. Deer were also more likely to move parallel to connected high‐density edges than all other edge types, suggesting that connectivity promotes movement along high‐density edges. These results suggest that increases in edge density that accompany human fragmentation of existing habitats may give rise to large‐scale changes in the antipredator behavior of deer. These results also suggest that conservation strategies that simultaneously manipulate edge density and connectivity (i.e., habitat corridors) may have multiple effects on different aspects of deer behavior: linear habitat corridors were areas of high vigilance, but also areas where deer movement behavior implied increased movement along the habitat edge. 

   more » « less