White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were nearly extirpated from the southeastern USA during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Recovery programmes, including protection of remnant native stocks and transplants from other parts of the species' range, were initiated in the early 1900's. The recovery programmes were highly successful and deer are presently numerous and continuously distributed throughout the southeastern USA. However, the impact of the recovery programmes on the present genetic structure of white-tailed deer remains to be thoroughly investigated. We used 17 microsatellite DNA loci to assess genetic differentiation and diversity for 543 white-tailed deer representing 16 populations in Mississippi and three extra-state reference populations. There was significant genetic differentiation among all populations and the majority of genetic variation (> or = 93%) was contained within populations. Patterns of genetic structure, genetic similarity and isolation by distance within Mississippi were not concordant with geographical proximity of populations or subspecies delineations. We detected evidence of past genetic bottlenecks in nine of the 19 populations examined. However, despite experiencing genetic bottlenecks or founder events, allelic diversity and heterozygosity were uniformly high in all populations. These exceeded reported values for other cervid species that experienced similar population declines within the past century. The recovery programme was successful in that deer were restored to their former range while maintaining high and uniform genetic variability. Our results seem to confirm the importance of rapid population expansion and habitat continuity in retaining genetic variation in restored populations. However, the use of diverse transplant stocks and the varied demographic histories of populations resulted in fine-scale genetic structuring.

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Few studies have documented fine-scale movements of ungulate species, including white-tailed deer(Odocoileus virginianus), despite the advent of global positioning system (GPS) technology incorporated into tracking devices. We collected fine-scale temporal location estimates (i.e., 15 min/relocation attempt) from 17 female and 15 male white-tailed deer over 7 years and 3 seasons in Oklahoma, USA. Our objectives were to document fine-scale movements of females and males and determine effects of reproductive phase, moon phase, and short-term weather patterns on movements. Female and male movements were primarily crepuscular. Male total daily movements were 20% greater during rut () than postrut (). Female daily movements were greatest during postparturition (), followed by parturition (), and preparturition (). We found moon phase had no effect on daily, nocturnal, and diurnal deer movements and fine-scale temporal weather conditions had an inconsistent influence on deer movement patterns within season. Our data suggest that hourly and daily variation in weather events have minimal impact on movements of white-tailed deer in southern latitudes. Instead, routine crepuscular movements, presumed to maximize thermoregulation and minimize predation risk, appear to be the most important factors influencing movements.

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We used genetic-based paternity assignments from 3 diverse populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to evaluate the long-held assumption that male reproductive success in this species is highly skewed toward a small number of mature, dominant individuals. The study populations represented a range of adult sex ratios and male age structures. Male reproductive success was distributed among a large number of males in all populations, with no evidence for highly skewed access to mating for any individual male. Surprisingly, physically immature males (1.5 and 2.5 years of age) collectively fathered 30-33% of offspring in all populations, even where mature males were present. Ecological and behavioral variables appear to constrain the ability of individual males to monopolize access to females, resulting in a wider distribution of reproductive success than expected based on previous ecological and behavioral studies of white-tailed deer. Qualitative differences in the distribution of male reproductive success among study sites suggested that demographic attributes such as adult sex ratio and male age structure might influence the degree of competition for mates. Further study incorporating known-age cohorts or integrating movements and behavior is necessary for understanding the effects of population demographics as well as the physical and behavioral attributes that confer reproductive success in diverse populations of white-tailed deer.

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Toxoplasma gondii isolates can be grouped into 3 genetic lineages. Type I isolates are considered more virulent in outbred mice and have been isolated predominantly from clinical cases of human toxoplasmosis, whereas types II and III isolates are considered less virulent for mice and are found in humans and food animals. Little is known of genotypes of T. gondii isolates from wild animals. In the present report, genotypes of isolates of T. gondii from wildlife in the United States are described. Sera from wildlife were tested for antibodies to T. gondii with the modified agglutination test, and tissues from animals with titers of 1:25 (seropositive) were bioassayed in mice. Toxoplasma gondii was isolated from the hearts of 21 of 34 seropositive white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from Mississippi and from 7 of 29 raccoons (Procyon lotor); 5 of 6 bobcats (Lynx rufus); and the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and coyote (Canis latrans) from Georgia. Toxoplasma gondii was also isolated from 7 of 10 seropositive black bears (Ursus americanus) from Pennsylvania by bioassay in cats. All 3 genotypes of T. gondii based on the SAG2 locus were circulating among wildlife.