A review of the population dynamics of mule deer and black‐tailed deer <i><scp>O</scp>docoileus hemionus</i> in <scp>N</scp>orth <scp>A</scp>merica

Forrester, Tavis; Wittmer, Heiko

doi:10.1111/mam.12002

Cited by 93 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Ecologists have long noted that ungulates are limited by both the top-down and the bottom-up forces that structure ecosystems (Hopcraft et al 2010;Forrester and Wittmer 2013). Here, we provide evidence that a top predator, in turn, is directly influenced by the seasonal behaviour of their main prey and apparently by scavengers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Seasonal variation in the feeding ecology of pumas (Puma concolor) in northern California

et al. 2014

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Direct effects of predators depend upon factors that can vary across seasons, including variations in the abundance and vulnerability of migrating prey. Past studies show conflicting results of whether puma (Puma concolor (L., 1771)) feeding ecology varies among seasons. We employed GPS collars to study puma feeding ecology in a single-prey system with migratory black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus (Richardson, 1829)). We hypothesized that puma feeding ecology would vary based on changes in prey abundance and spatial distribution, as well as competition with scavengers and decomposers. Our results supported these hypotheses. Kill rates in number of ungulates/week were significantly higher in summer and autumn than in winter, likely owing to the increased availability and density of black-tailed deer fawns. The handling times of blacktailed deer ≥1 year old were significantly higher in winter than in spring, summer, or autumn. We speculated that reduced handling time in summer may have been influenced by black bear (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) kleptoparasitism and the decomposition of kills. Pumas killed black-tailed deer at higher elevations in summer than in winter, spring, or autumn, and the elevations correlated significantly with seasonal elevations used by black-tailed deer, suggesting that pumas exhibited seasonal foraging behaviours and tracked prey availability in a system with migrating prey.Résumé : Les effets directs de prédateurs dépendent de facteurs qui peuvent varier selon les saisons, y compris des variations de l'abondance et de la vulnérabilité de proies migratrices. Des études antérieures ont produit des résultats contradictoires quant à d'éventuelles variations de l'écologie alimentaire du couguar (Puma concolor (L., 1771)) selon la saison. Nous avons utilisé des colliers GPS pour étudier l'écologie alimentaire du couguar dans un système à proie unique, à savoir le cerf mulet migrateur (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus (Richardson, 1829)). Nous avons postulé que l'écologie alimentaire du couguar variait selon les variations de l'abondance et de la répartition spatiale des proies, ainsi que la concurrence de détritivores et de décomposeurs. Nos résultats appuient ces hypothèses. Les taux de capture en ongulés/semaine étaient significativement plus élevés à l'été et l'automne qu'à l'hiver, vraisemblablement en raison de la disponibilité et la densité accrues de paons de cerf mulet. Les temps de consommation de cerfs mulets de ≥1 an étaient significativement plus élevés en hiver qu'au printemps, en été et en automne. Nous pensons que les temps de consommation plus courts durant l'été pourraient avoir être influencés par le cleptoparasitisme d'ours noirs (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) et la décomposition des captures. Les couguars tuaient des cerfs mulets à de plus hautes altitudes en été qu'en hiver, au printemps et en automne, et les altitudes étaient significativement corrélées aux altitudes saisonnières fréquentées par les cerfs mulets, ce qui donne à penser que les couguars f...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Seasonal variation in the feeding ecology of pumas (Puma concolor) in northern California

et al. 2014

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“…We found strong fitness benefits of using familiar areas in a medium-sized ungulate, the black-tailed deer, which is negatively affected by predation across much of its distribution (Forrester and Wittmer 2013). The observed fitness benefits linked to familiarity were lower risks of mortality and predation at two different scales inside identified seasonal home ranges.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Home sweet home: fitness consequences of site familiarity in female black-tailed deer

Forrester

Casady

Wittmer

2015

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Individual animals strive to maximize fitness by gaining access to food while minimizing predation risk, and spatial knowledge of both forage resources and predation risks has long been presumed to be advantageous. Actual fitness benefits of site familiarity, however, have rarely been demonstrated. We placed GPS collars on 57 female black-tailed deer in coastal California over 4 years to track seasonal movements, determine home ranges, and monitor survival and cause of mortality. We used seasonal home ranges and core areas as measures of site familiarity and modeled how mortality risk varied with use of familiar areas, forage availability, age class, and elevational overlap with simultaneously collared pumas using Cox proportional hazards models. The use of familiar areas was the best predictor of mortality risk, and deer that had a 40 % probability of leaving their home range in a given week were four times more likely to die.Puma predation was the largest cause of mortality, and deer whose average weekly elevation was farther from the average elevation of pumas were less likely to die. While forage availability was not related to mortality risk, deer with lower forage availability were more likely to leave their home range during both summer and winter. Our results provide a rare example of fitness benefits associated with site familiarity and the use of familiar areas as a refuge from predation. The benefits of site familiarity are likely widespread in ungulates, especially when there are stable home ranges, complex habitats, and few cues of predation risk.

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“…This has important implications for predator-prey modeling and subsequent management of both pumas (and sensu other large carnivores) and their ungulate prey. Given that puma predation is a significant cause of mortality for many North American game species (e.g., bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis [Johnson et al 2013]; mule deer [Forrester and Wittmer 2013]) underestimating their kill rates and those of other predators may be a contributing factor to their observed or suspected declines. For game species, underestimating the number of prey being killed by predators may also lead to human harvest quotas that are set too high; the emergent effects of potentially excess human harvest in combination with higher actual predator kill rates could certainly contribute to ungulate declines (e.g., Eberhardt et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The difference between killing and eating: ecological shortcomings of puma energetic models

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Bioenergetic modeling is employed to estimate the energetic demands of many cryptic carnivores and their kill rates needed to meet their energetic requirements. We tested two prevalent assumptions driving energetic modeling of predator kill rates: (1) morphological and physiological information (weight, energetic demands of activity patterns) of individual predators are sufficient to accurately predict their kill rates, and (2) kill and consumption rates are equivalent (meaning that carnivores consume all of what they kill). We did this by testing whether two independent energetic models accurately predicted puma (Puma concolor) kill and consumption rates in three study systems in North and South America with variable ecology, including climate and prey assemblages. Our results demonstrated that current puma energetic models drastically underestimate actual puma kill rates quantified through intensive field monitoring. We concluded that puma energetic models more realistically estimate puma consumption rates needed to meet metabolic requirements. Puma kill rates determined from field efforts were not explained by puma weight (in kg) or activity patterns (in distance traveled), which were the variables used in energetic models. Our kill rates in kg/day determined from field investigations of GPS clusters were the highest reported to date and statistically equivalent across three distinct ecosystems, a range of puma characteristics, variable lengths of monitoring, variable daily distances traveled, and across systems with 1-3 ungulate prey. In contrast, puma kill rates in ungulates/ week differed across study areas, suggesting that kill rates described in kilograms per day are better suited for comparing puma kill rates across systems while kill rates in terms of ungulates per unit time are better suited for modeling predator-prey dynamics for a particular ecosystem. Based on these results we concluded that energetic models using morphological and physiological variables alone were insufficient to predict kill rates, and proposed that rather than focusing future research on refining current energetic models, future research should be directed at understanding the behavioral ecology driving carnivore kill rates.

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A review of the population dynamics of mule deer and black‐tailed deer Odocoileus hemionus in North America

Cited by 93 publications

References 67 publications

Seasonal variation in the feeding ecology of pumas (Puma concolor) in northern California

Seasonal variation in the feeding ecology of pumas (Puma concolor) in northern California

Home sweet home: fitness consequences of site familiarity in female black-tailed deer

The difference between killing and eating: ecological shortcomings of puma energetic models

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