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Comparisons of corn crop-loss reporting methods produced no statistically significant differences between on-the-ground estimates and mean estimates reported by farmers. Data were obtained from 222 randomly sampled cornfields in Pennsylvania. Categories include average wildlife-related losses and losses produced by white-tailed deer.

An overview is presented on the effects of hunting, poaching and coyote predation on Nova Scotia's white-tailed deer populations. Implications for wildlife management are also discussed, such as adjusting antlerless hunting permit allotments to balance hunting and nonhunting loss estimates.

Research indicates that philopatry and high survival rates of white-tailed deer in suburban areas contribute to their overabundance in metropolitan regions. Data were obtained from 208 marked deer from Chicago, Illinois forest preserves between 1994-1998. Philopatry consisted of dispersals of less than 9 km, with deer-auto collisions producing the highest mortality rate.

A habitat suitability index for white-tailed deer was tested using foraging intensity and pellet-group count levels in the presence and absence of hunting and timber harvesting. The model performed well for foraging intensity except under timber harvesting conditions, and was negatively correlated with pellet count except under hunting conditions.

A comparison of mule deer and white-tailed deer populations near Denver, Colorado, show mule deer outnumber white-tailed deer by a ratio of four to one, and mule deer fawns survive white-tailed deer fawns by a ratio of two to one. These baseline figures account for the three-to-one difference in perceived population growth rates between the mule deer and the white-tailed deer, respectively.

Stochastic recruitment was studied in white-tailed deer along an environmental gradient.

White-tailed deer use of clearings in relation to forage availability was examined.

High-density deer populations in forest communities can have a major effect on forest structures and are of increasing concern to management agencies protecting native plant communities. The effect of deer foraging varies widely, depending upon deer numbers and availability of alternative forage plants. A new study investigates whether summer deer grazing intensity can be predicted from estimates of winter deer density and from the composition of the forest's surrounding landscape. Results show that deer density is not the only consideration in management, with low densities of forage plant species in the surrounding area making parks and preserves especially vulnerable.

The densities of Pennsylvania songbird species in forest enclosures in which the effects of browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been simulated were measured to determine the impact of deer density on songbird densities. The results show that deer density had no impact on ground- or upper-canopy-nesting songbirds or their habitats. However, species richness and densities of intermediate-canopy-nesting songbirds declined. The implications for white-tailed deer management strategies are discussed.

The summer diurnal bed sites of Coues white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus couesi) were characterized from 1989-90 to obtain data for preservation purposes. Human activities may destroy bed sites, which enable deer to maintain body core temperature and water balance during summer. Results showed that location of bed sites aree directly related to tree density, tree species richness and tree canopy cover. Regulation of fuelwood cuts, grazing schedules and recreational use is recommended to protect white-tailed deer bed sites during summer or during high-temperature-low water periods.

Habisat quality reducedeby fireesuppresscoaemay have iflueacedethe receatedeclie ofeKey deer (Odocoileus virgiianus clavium). A major foragigehabisat for Key deer,ethe rocklaad pie community well as several plaatseeawemic toethis habisat, depend oneperiodic firesefor coatiuedeexisteace. Re buraigeis opposed by residensseofenearby urban developmeat. To quaatify effectseof fire,ewe measure aawenutritcve coateat ofebrowseefor the year followcg fire,emonitored growsheof the vegetatcoaeafte aawedocumeated successcoaeiaerelatcoaeto timeesiace the last fire. Browsigebyedeer was most itense ia the growigeseasoa. Deerechose speciesehigh ia crudeeproteia (CP), phosphorus (P), aaweia vitroed (IVOMD). The 2 most heavily browsed pielaad species,eblackbead (Pishecellobium keyense) aaweIndian mulberry (Morida royoc), wereehigh ia CP year-round. The amouat ofePeof diet speciesewas lower thaa the assumederequiremeat for deer but actually may be adequate. Increases ia nutritcve value ia impor dietary specieselastede6-11emonthseafter buraig. Sprout density of specieseia the diet was higher ( ia buraedethaaeiaeunburaedeploss, providigemoreebrowseewishiae2 yearseafter buraig. Fruitigeof di speciesereturaedetoeunburaedelevelsewishiae1 year after buraig at most sites. Thus,eburaig ofepie providedetemporary benefits ia nutritcve quality aawemoreeprologed benefits ia browseequaatity. Fir retardatcoaeof successcoa, however, may be ofegreaaer benefitetoedeer thaaetemporary forage enhaacem Community structureewas similar amog pie staads on Big Pie Key. Vegetatcoaeoaesmaller islaads was mixsureeof pielaad aawehammock species,ewish few herbaceous species,eiacludigethose importaateia t Keyedeer diet. A 10-etoe20-year iterval between firesemaintais pie savanna on Big Pie Key. Aa ia ofe10-50 yearseoaesmaller,emoreeisolated islaads arrests successcoaeat aa iatermediate stage. Oaly a fire-free iterval ([greaaer thaa]100 years) allows full developmeateof aehammock community. Enwemic plaatseat pielaad sites wereegenerally unaffectedeby fireeia pie savanna,ewhereas they wereerareeo from sites ia which successcoaehad advancedetoemixed pie-hammock compositcoa. Preventigeextictcoa eawemic plaatseis a major benefiteof prescribedeburaig. Despite the value of prescribedeburaig for pielaad eawemics aaw specieseimportaateia the Key deer diet, managemeat of Lower Keys vegetatcoa should eacompasseoaheresuccesscoaal stages. Maintaii g a diversity ofestaads will provide cover for refuge for numerous plaat specieseiatoleraat ofeburaig. We recommead aa experimeatal regimeeoferepl plosseof pie savanna be buraedeat 5-, 15-, 25-, aaw 75-year itervalsetoedocumeat responseseof plaa as well as successcoaal shifts., Periodic fires may be important in maintaining the foraging habitat for Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) in Florida. A decline in deer population in the Lower Florida Keys may be the result of suppressing fires due to urban development. Vegetation was monitored for nutritive content over time, following a fire. The nutritive value of important pineland species was found to increase after burning and browse quantity improved. Burning also prevented the extinction of endemic plants. Future management objectives are recommended.

Winter habitat use patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in northern Idaho were studied to investigate the hypothesis that snow cover can be used to predict winter habitat selection. A model is developed to predict winter habitat selection using snow depth and an assessment of a number of other factors that might influence habitat selection. Results suggest habitat selection can be forecast from seasonal changes in deer basal metabolism combined with forage availabilty and energy expenditure related to snow cover. Deer management implications are considered.

We examined the metabolic rate of captive female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus oirginianus) to determine if the seasonal rhythm now presumed for this species is a physiological adaptation or a of earlier experimental designs. Indirect respiration calorimetry was used with 4 yearling does in a trials designed to determine fasting metabolic rate during each season. Only metabolic rates from be animals were used in analyses and care was taken to ensure that seasonal comparisons were made among values within the thermal neutral zone. Contrary to earlier findings, no differences (P [greater tha among summer, winter, and spring fasting metabolic rate (87,85, and 90 kcal/kg [BM.sup.0.75]/day, re The observed increase in summer metabolic rate for white-tailed deer reported by previous researcher be attributed to the measurement of metabolic rates outside the thermal neutral zone, and a failure for differential activity of deer between summer and winter.

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were studied on and adjacent to a 600-ha refuge in east-central Illinois during 1980-85. Marked deer (n = 286), 96 of which were radio marked, were used to determine the demographic characteristics, seasonal movements, social interactions, habitat selection, and value of refugia to deer in landscapes heavily affected by human activities. Deer numbers were increasing on the refuge and on more lightly hunted larger forests during the study due to high natality, high prehunt fawn survival (>90%), relatively high survival of yearling and older females protected by the refuge, and hunter preference for antlered males. However, deer were frequently hunted to temporary extinction in smaller wood lots. The survival of yearling and older males was significantly lower than that of females because males moved more and were selected by hunters. During April-June each year, about half the surviving fawn crop (both sexes) and 20% of the yearling females dispersed from the study area and moved an averaged of 45-50% km before settling on new home ranges. Both sexes tended to settle in vacant ranges where deer had been killed during hunting or where habitats were hostile in winter. An additional 20% of yearling and older females migrated seasonally; they moved an average of 13 km away in spring and returned to the study area in late fall or early winter. Nearly all deer were faithful to seasonal ranges selected before the age of 15 months. Survival of dispersing deer after marking was lower than that of deer with refuge protection. Refuge-dwelling males frequently incuded nonrefuge areas in their annual home ranges, a practice that resulted in survival rates similar to dispersing deer. Fawns that did not disperse used some or all of the ranges of their mothers, and nondispersing female fawns had at least an occasional association with their mothers throughout life. Home ranges of adjacent females overlapped in space but not in time. Related females shared more of their home ranges than did nonrelatives in all seasons. Habitat use was similar by both sexes except in summer. During June-September, mature males (>3 yrs) vacated areas used by females to rear fawns and moved to habitats dominated by row crops. In other seasons both sexes favored early successional ( Extensive female dispersal in white-taile deer, such as occurred in east-central Illinois, appears to be confined to the highly fragmented ranges of the agricultural Midwest. Dispersal of fawns appears adaptive for both sexes because high fawn survival and limited habitat each spring produce intense competition for inclusion within existing social groups. The repeated extinctions and colonizations of deer in these sparsely forested landscapes depend upon scattered refugia for annual restocking with annual success dependent on distance from winter refugia. Refugia are necessary for deer to live long enough to develop a tradition of range use and to pass these traditions on to succeeding generations through matrilineal associations.

Harvest data constitute an important source of information on many white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations in North America. Many techniques and variations thereof have been developed for the analysis of such data, and preferred methods differ widely among management agencies and researchers. In this monograph, we catalog, evaluate, and compare a number of these techniques including Index-Removal, Catch Per Unit Effort, Population Reconstruction, Change-in-ratio, Life Table, Harvest Age Structure, Harvest Sex Ratio, Land and Wood's 'Pennsylvania' method, and Fraser's method. We critically examined characteristics such as input requirements, output produced, assumptions, accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and robustness. Comparative evaluations were based primarily on ability to identify and monitor trends in the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge deer herd during the period 1973-88. Over that timespan, the herd was apparently harvest-regulated and experienced several alternating periods of decline and stability. Index-Removal, Change-in-ratio, and Life Table Analysis proved least satisfactory in providing information about the reference herd, primarily because critical assumptions were not met. Harvest Age Structure and Harvest Sex Ratio analyses were more useful, but neither provided information sufficient for precise herd management. The importance of interpreting harvest age structure separately for males and females was emphasized. Reconstruction offered a logical and direct tool for population analysis although it was sensitive to varying harvest intensity and di not address current status unless combined with other techniques. Certain variations of the Catch Per Unit Effort approach were able to closely monitor trends in abundance with a minimum of data. The Lang-Wood and Fraser methods appeared to be less sensitive, precise, and robust than Reconstruction or Catch Per Unit Effort, but could serve as supplemental methods of analysis. We conclude by describing how trends in abundance, harvest, and effort might be indicative of a population's probable position on the growth curve. The relevance of such knowledge to 'practical' deer management also is discussed.

We used cohort analysis to evaluate temporal variation in the population density of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at the Canonto Study Area in southeastern Ontario. During continuous study between 1953 and 1986, the population underwent 2 major fluctuations in density, ranging between 1.3 and 7.0 deer/[km.sup.2]. Variation in instantaneous exploitation rates was related linearly to hunting effort, as predicted by the simple random search model used in cohort analysis. Temporal variation in the annual rate of increase of the deer population was largely accounted for by variations in hunting effort and the per capita rate of recruitment. Recruitment rates and growth rates of juveniles showed evidence of delayed, rather than immediate, response to changes in population density. Dynamic interactions between deer and their food supply probably caused similar time lags in both growth and recruitment rates. Such time lags are likely to predispose the population to oscillations, and this tendency was possibly exacerbated by temporal variation in exploitation effort.

The indirect effects of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on the ground-dwelling herpetofauna and invertebrates in the Cuyahoga National Park, Ohio, USA are discussed. The analysis proves that the indirect effects of a keystone herbivore lead to the elevation of local animal diversity in any region.

An eight-year selection process is applied in an attempt to determine if yearling antler in subsequent cohorts could be improved by selecting for yearling male white-tailed deer exhibiting superior antler potential under suboptimal nutritional conditions. Result provides an insight to the effectiveness of a selection process in an overall deer management program.

The hearing range of white-tailed deer determined by using auditory brainstem response detected frequencies to at least 30 kHz.

The studies of space use and survival of 43 female white-tailed deer in an exurban setting near Carbondale, Illinois revealed the deer to have larger home ranges than most suburban deer populations and generally smaller home ranges than rural deer populations.

The winter forage selection in white-tailed deer at high density shows a preference for balsam fir mainly due to its low content of tannins and fibers.

A study is conducted to quantify direct and indirect contract rates among white-tailed deer and to compare them with simpler measures of joint space use. Direct contact rates were found to increase with increasing volume of intersection (VI) and were higher in autumn-spring than in summer, while indirect contract rates also found to increase with VI were affected lesser by both season and pair-type.

The impact of Key deer herbivory on natural vegetation near urban areas was studied by comparing plant densities and diversity in hardwood hammocks adjacent to urban and distant from exurban developed areas. No differences in total plant species or diversity on islands with high densities of deer were detected and testing of deer browsing intensity on islands of high deer density showed browsing pressures to be higher on preferred plant species in hammocks near urban areas than exurban areas.

A 13-year survival (time survived since birth) and cause-specific mortality study, divided into 2 phases, (phase I covering the period 1-6 years and phase II 7-13 years) of female white-tailed deer during extreme variability in winter severity and hunting pressure is conducted. Results reveal that the greatest risk of mortality is in the first year of life and models using the constructed discrete time variable give unbiased survival estimates.

White-tailed deer fawns were fitted with radiocollars during spring 2001 and 2002 to quantify cause-specific mortality, survival, and home range size and composition in the southwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, USA. It was observed that habitat quality, land cover and use were potential factors that contributed to high fawn survival.

The seasonal movement patterns and home ranges of white-tailed deer in Southwest Minnesota are described. The data provided could be helpful to biologists managing northern populations of white-tailed deer in fragmented environments by detailing the relationship between climate, intensive agriculture, and deer movements.

Arboreal lichen production and availability for Rock Mountain elk, white-tailed deer and mule deer during winter in Western Montana was studied. A strong linear relationship between lichen availability and lichens consumed showed that lichen use was driven by availability rather than by opportunistic foraging, and that ungulates might have selected habitat due to lichen availability.

The effects of two types of stochasticity, environmental variability, and management control error, on state-dependent strategies (SDSs) harvest policies for a white-tailed deer model are examined. Three rules of thumb for harvest management of long-lived vertebrates in stochastic systems are suggested.

Studies conducted to obtain current population methods of Florida Key deer and for outlining a protocol for future monitoring are discussed. Findings reveal that all the three methods, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) road survey data, and mortality data, and mark-recapture data, can be used for monitoring changes in the density of Key deer.

An evaluation of the sex-age-kill model for white-tailed deer hunting is presented. The model's precision in estimating abundance is dependent on the precision of input parameters. A cost function of obtaining estimates economically is also discussed.

Research on Oregon's Columbian white-tailed deer population indicates that fawn survival is too poor to produce sufficient recruits for conservation efforts. Abandonment and predation were found to be the primary known causes of death. Survival rates for all deer were lowest in the winter, but did not vary according to gender.

Factors that affect killing rates of white tailed deer by coyotes are examined.