Coevolutionary divergence among sympatric species, such as elk and mule deer, created the idea of resource partitioning resulting from interspecific competition. Traditionally, resource partitioning was evaluated by species temporal avoidance, spatial separation and dietary differences (Stewart et al. 2010). Six different outputs influence mule deer behavior; density of roads, quality of forage, quantity of forage, quality of cover, quantity of cover and interactions between livestock, elk and mule deer (Edge et al. 1990). Habitat choice by mule deer can be a result of direct and indirect competition with elk and livestock, influencing their distribution and population (Edge et al, 1990, Long et al. 2008). Another form of competition is interference …show more content…
In midsummer, elk begin to use of forest with greater canopy cover on more easterly and northly aspects. This pattern is correlated with seasonal progression of forage abundance and quality (Ager et al. 2003). Effects of seasonality on elk and mule deer were prevalent in all seasons except spring. Summer through winter, forage availability often lead to dietary overlap creating spatial overlap, possibly resulting in exploitive competition (Stewart et al. 2002). Since mule deer are smaller bodied (mean body weight 35kg), absolute availability of food did not become an issue until selected biomass dipped below 50-100 kg/ha, while elk (mean body weight 160kg) were limited once selected biomass dipped below 1,500 kg/ha (Wickstrom et al. 1984). Wickstrom found that velocity of travel decreased in both species as selected biomass increased. It was determined that mule deer walked faster in understory habitats compared to grasslands, while elk moved at a similar rate for both habitat types. It is also believed that if an area is being heavily used by elk, deer will avoid or leave the area even if forage is abundant and their dietary overlap is low (Nelson …show more content…
Although cattle primarily influence the behavior of elk via strong dietary overlap (consuming mostly graminoids), they can affect mule deer behavior by reducing vegetative cover in essential fawning habitat and over grazing in essential foraging habitats (Stewart et al. 2002, Torstenson et al. 2006). Habitats that were previously grazed can have improved forage palatability, nutritional value, increased abundance and diversity of palatable perennial species, preferred my mule deer and elk, but if the habitat was grazed excessive and extant, these sites will be avoided (Taylor et al. 2004, Torstenson et al. 2006). When cattle grazing is presence, deer respond by decreasing the length of resting bouts and increasing the lengths of feeding bouts throughout the day. As cattle stocking rate increased, mule deer seemed to increase their home-range size including steep slopes, increasing their energetic costs (Kie et al. 1991). It is important to understand the behavior of mule deer when coexisting with other ungulates such as elk and cattle where interspecies and interference competition is occurring. Studying competition through experimental approaches has been problematic due to the need for addition or removal of herbivores (Stewart et al. 2002). But understanding how behavioral avoidance between these species influences foraging habits, assumptions can be
I am studying the White-tailed Deer populations that are located at Fort Indiantown GAP Pennsylvania. This area has a diverse biome that consists of populated areas, deciduous forests, fields, waterways, and many other types of habitat. I set up my observation area in a deciduous wooded area near a stream and a small lake. I have observed deer paths in this area as well as numerous amounts of deer scat.
The deer population has increased so much that in many areas, they suffer from chronic starvation. “Bucks only” laws passed years ago to help in re-establishing the dwindling deer herds now work against the deer by resulting in an overabundance of does. Even with the overabundance of does many hunters refuse to shoot a doe. They believe in the old saying, “It takes a doe to yield a buck.” This is entirely true but it ignores the basic law of nature that any piece of land, and the food and cover in it, can support only so much game. If the excess game is not harvested by hunters or killed by predators, nature will take over and exterminate enough animals as needed or more through disease and starvation. That’s why hunting is a much more humane means for a deer ...
In many areas, the deer have adapted to eat primarily agricultural crops (crops grown by humans). In many parts of the country, a deer’s diet may consist of up to 50% farm-grown corn. Obviously the deer eat some native foods, such as some trees and bushes, particularly buck brush and rose, but along with small amounts of dogwood, chokecherry, plum, red cedar, pine, and many other species of plants. Forbs, particularly sunflowers, are important, however grasses and sedges are used only briefly in spring and fall. White-tailed deer are the largest game animal in North America.
“The animals are reducing the number of trees and seedlings and affecting which species will survive, forestry experts say” (NBC news). A wildlife professor estimated that deer cause at least $750 million in damage to the timber industry. This becomes a big impact on the economy. “We view it as problem of our own making,” said Laura Simon, field director of urban wildlife and sanctuaries program for the Humane Society of the United States. “We have created an ideal landscape for deer.” (NBC news). Deer are said to eat anything and everything, this is especially proven when farms have their crops
In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,
In this lab, we explore the theory of optimal foraging and the theory of central place foraging using beavers as the model animal. Foraging refers to the mammalian behavior associated with searching for food. The optimal foraging theory assumes that animals feed in a way that maximizes their net rate of energy intake per unit time (Pyke et al. 1977). An animal may either maximize its daily energy intake (energy maximizer) or minimize the time spent feeding (time minimizer) in order to meet minimum requirements. Herbivores commonly behave as energy maximizers (Belovsky 1986) and accomplish this maximizing behavior by choosing food that is of high quality and has low-search and low-handling time (Pyke et al. 1977).
Nature has always been about the survival of the fittest, but the logic of the uses of these ranches eliminates the strongest. Through this process, animal behaviors have changed.
Differences in diets of lynx by age and sex class haven’t been reported yet. Due to their heavy dependence on hares for food, morphological adaptations to hunting hares (Murray and Boutin 1991), lynx are usually considered hare specialists. They hunt by either stalking and rushing at their prey, or ambushing them from “ambush beds” which they make near the trails of prey (Murray et al. 1995; O’Donoghue et al. 1998a). The costs and benefits of ambushing rather than talking prey likely depend on prey abundance and behavior as well as the physiological state of the predator (Davies 1997; Formanowicz and Brandley 1987). Ambushing prey when prey availability is low may be more energetically efficient for them than actively searching for them (O’Donoghue et al. 1998a). While typically solitary, lynx regularly hunt in family groups, headed by the mother. Families usually spread out while hunting hares in good habitat, and hares flushed by one animal are often killed by another (Saunders 1963a; Parker 1981; Mowat and Slough 1998; O’Donoghue et al. 1998a). This behavior increases the foraging efficiency of family groups. Lynx occupy forests of North America (McCort and Cardoaz 1982; Quinn and Parker
The author provides information describing the deer population in parts of New Jersey; yet, he does not include any data regarding the population in the rest of the United States, nor does he include any sources of where this information was obtained. A reader may be more
Klein, John. "Restoring Biodiversity by Lowering Deer Numbers at Shawnee Lookout (Ohio)." Ecological Restoration 28.2 (2010): 131-133. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
Thesis: The population of white-tail deer in Alabama has drastically increased over the past century causing significant damage to property and homeowners, caused by hunters being less active.
Lebel, François, et al. "Influence Of Habitat Features And Hunter Behavior On White-Tailed Deer Harvest." Journal Of Wildlife Management 76.7 (2012): 1431-1440. Environment Complete. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Populations contain very delicate and reactive relationships between species. These populations can be largely impacted by small changes such as weather or climate. Most populations stay relatively balanced by predators or limited food sources. Populations are sometimes directly correlated to each other and when one gets too large they either get killed by the other or starve from competition over food. Our experiment was designed to answer the question, which factors affect the stability of a predator-prey population size relationship? This shows how populations balance each other out. Our claim was that if there is a higher amount of time needed for the re-growth of the grass, the amount of sheep, and therefore wolves, will go down.
Fire affects nutrition of wildlife in the short-term by increasing the quality of their diets or by alteration of plant content. Long-term benefits are the maintenance of habitats in forage producing conditions. Fire alters the type of plant material present, allowing animals to select for greater nutritional plant material, this improves their diets. Mountain sheep and mule deer in the Rocky Mountains have higher nutritional diets following prescribed fires due mainly to increases in the amount of new plant growth. Plants utilized by the Key deer in the Florida Keys Islands increase in nutritional content and digestibility for seven to eleven months following fire. Although total plant material is severely reduced during fire, the plants recover to original levels or surpass them within two years. Fire increases the digestibility and protein content of lodge pole pine bark through decreases in plant secondary metabolites and organic matter. Although dead bark and burned bark show similar composition, elk use burned bark as a food source even when higher nutritional foods are present in abundance. It is presumed that elk use burned...
The white-tailed deer lives in wooded areas. Gray wolves and mountain lions used to be predators of the white-tailed deer. So some areas do become over populated. People and dogs are now the deer's main predator. Because there are not many natural predators, deer populations can sometimes grow too large for their environment and deer can starve to death. In rural areas, hunters help control deer populations, but in suburban and urban areas hunting is often not allowed and deer populations can grow out of control. Disease and parasites like lice, mites and roundworms can weaken or kill deer. Young deer and old deer often get sick and die, especially in the winter.