Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Beier, Paul
• McCullough, Dale R

Titel

Factors influencing white-tailed deer activity patterns and habitat use

Ist Teil von

• Wildlife monographs, 1990 (109), p.3-51

Ort / Verlag

Bethesda, MD (USA): Wildlife Society

Erscheinungsjahr

1990

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Activity patterns, habitat use, and home range characteristics of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on the George Reserve, Michigan, were studied from 1981 to 1984 through the use of motion-sensitive radio collars. Mean percent of time active for both sexes peaked in spring and fall with a pronounced low in January and February and a moderate low in June and July. Females were significantly more active than males during January through June. This seasonal pattern, and differences by sex, were consistent with seasonal and sexual differences in metabolic demand relative to food resources. During most months, deer exhibited a diel activity pattern with peaks at sunset and just after sunrise. The sexes did not differ in diel patterns except during September and October when males were more active at night and females more active by day. Deer activity decreased with snow depth, even at slight snow depths, probably because of changes in food availability. Deer activity was maximum at temperatures of 6-16 C and decreased at both higher and lower temperatures. Effects of temperature varied with time of day, season, cloud cover, wind speed, and habitat. Moonlight had little or no influence on nighttime activity or habitat use by deer. There were no marked shifts in use of vegetation types among spring, summer, and fall. Winter habitat use differed strongly from that in the other 8 seasons, with grasslands, swamps, and bogs used more and closed forests used less than during other seasons. Weather variables influenced habitat use during winter, but not during other seasons. Increased use of swamps and decreased use of closed forests, open woodlands, and grasslands were associated with increasing snow depth, but could not be explained solely by the swamp microclimate. Swamps also may facilitate deer aggregation to reduce the risk of predation under deep snow conditions. Deer used closed vegetation types during daytime and open types at dusk, night, and dawn. The sexes differed in habitat use, with males making greater use of closed forests and females greater use of open woodlands and grassland. Seasonal home ranges on the George Reserve (males-142 ha; females-45 ha) were smaller than reported elsewhere, probably because of high interspersion of habitat types. The difference in home range size between the sexes could not be explained solely by differences in metabolic weight. Social behavior and use of less productive habitats by males may account for this difference. Females showed site fidelity across seasons and years. Males used the same summer range from year to year, but tended to shift home ranges between winter and summer. Some individual males also changed winter ranges annually.