Deer populations up, hunter populations down: Implications of interdependence of deer and hunter population dynamics on management

Riley, Shawn J.; Decker, Daniel J.; Enck, Jody W.; Curtis, Paul D.; Lauber, T. Bruce; Brown, Tommy L.

doi:10.1080/11956860.2003.11682793

Cited by 86 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Although population reduction can be an important aspect of QDM where deer density approaches or exceeds nutritional carrying capacity (NCC; Adams et al 2010), abundant forage and healthy forest understories suggested deer density did not approach NCC on any of the club lands or on 2 of the 3 WMAs we surveyed. Nonetheless, the willingness of QDM practitioners to kill an appropriate number of does is an important consideration for state wildlife agencies where deer density presents ecological or cultural concerns (Riley et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Attitudes and motivations of Tennessee deer hunters toward quality deer management

Harper

Fly

Beaver

2012

Wildlife Society Bulletin

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Attitudes and motivations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) hunters are important for state wildlife agencies to consider when they are trying to meet harvest goals for the species. In recent years, interest in quality deer management (QDM) has grown, but little is known about hunter support for QDM. We surveyed hunters on private hunting clubs and Wildlife Management Areas where QDM was practiced, as well as statewide sportsman license holders in Tennessee, USA, following the 2004-2005 deerhunting season to identify characteristics, attitudes, and motivations of these hunter groups. Respondents in all 3 hunter groups identified QDM as a ''sensible management strategy for white-tailed deer'' and a majority (>76%) of the hunters preferred hunting areas managed under QDM guidelines. Hunter groups varied in their responses related to specific QDM guidelines and implementation. Nonetheless, all 3 hunter groups were primarily interested in herd health and buck quality, wanted a reduction in the buck bag limit, and supported harvest of antlerless deer. Motivations to hunt varied by hunter group, but respondents in all 3 groups indicated that experiencing nature was the number one reason for hunting. Our survey results suggest that though opinions may vary on how QDM might be implemented, the general deer-hunting public in Tennessee has moved away from the traditional deer-management philosophy that allowed buck harvest without age restrictions and restricted antlerless harvest. Using biological justification along with hunter opinion, we recommend that state wildlife agencies consider providing QDM opportunities where appropriate and offer annual education programs to improve hunters' understanding of deer-management strategies. This should help ensure hunter satisfaction and will help state wildlife agencies meet deermanagement objectives. ß 2012 The Wildlife Society.KEY WORDS hunter attitudes, hunter motivations, Odocoileus virginianus, quality deer management, white-tailed deer.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Balancing hunter satisfaction with management strategies can be difficult for state wildlife agencies (Woods et al 1996, Messmer et al 1998. Deer managers typically depend on hunter harvest to control deer density and meet management goals, and hunter satisfaction can have a considerable influence on harvest levels (Riley et al 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes and motivations of Tennessee deer hunters toward quality deer management

Harper

Fly

Beaver

2012

Wildlife Society Bulletin

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“…At the same time, the number of citizens participating in deer hunting has steadily declined over the last two decades in part because of an increase in the proportion of the US population that lives in urban areas (Zinn 2003;Adams et al 2004). In addition, hunting opportunities have declined over the past decades as lands formerly in large forest tracts were fragmented and developed for housing and commercial purposes (Drake et al 2002;Riley et al 2003). These same land cover types are especially attractive to deer leading to a synergistic feedback whereby deer abundance increases in habitats that have the lowest hunting pressure (Riley et al 2003;Cote et al 2004).…”

Section: Deer As Ecosystem Engineersmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In addition, hunting opportunities have declined over the past decades as lands formerly in large forest tracts were fragmented and developed for housing and commercial purposes (Drake et al 2002;Riley et al 2003). These same land cover types are especially attractive to deer leading to a synergistic feedback whereby deer abundance increases in habitats that have the lowest hunting pressure (Riley et al 2003;Cote et al 2004).…”

Section: Deer As Ecosystem Engineersmentioning

confidence: 95%

A perfect storm: two ecosystem engineers interact to degrade deciduous forests of New Jersey

et al. 2008

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“…Although herbivory is an inherently consumptive process in forest ecosystems, the overabundance of ungulates has been attributed to human activities, including anthropogenic warming (Forchhammer et al 1998;Loison et al 1999), land-use change (Bobek et al 1984;Roseberry and Woolf 1998), reduced hunting pressure (Brown et al 2000;Riley et al 2003), and the loss of keystone predator species (Rooney 2001), and it has been proposed to have adverse effects on vegetation (Coˆte´et al 2004;Takatsuki 2009). Deer have direct and indirect impacts on the biotic interactions among coexisting plant species (Rooney and Waller 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deer herbivory affects the functional diversity of forest floor plants via changes in competition‐mediated assembly rules

Nishizawa

Tatsumi

Kitagawa

et al. 2016

Ecological Research

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Distorted plant diversity patterns due to ungulate herbivory could be explained by changes in community assembly processes, but the effects of ungulate herbivory on plant community assembly remain unclear. Here, we examined the role of deer herbivory in the regulation of the assembly processes of a forest floor plant community by assessing species and functional diversity in over-and no-grazing plots (control and exclosure plots, respectively) in Shiretoko National Park in Japan. Compared with the exclosure plot, vegetation coverage was considerably lower, and species richness and diversity were higher in the control plot. Functional traits associated with competitive ability (leaf area and chlorophyll content) were significantly higher in the exclosure plot. The pattern of functional diversity changed from overdispersion to clustering with an increase in local crowdedness. This trait clustering indicates that the local communities that were free from ungulate disturbance gradually became dominated by some competitively superior plant species, which led to low species diversity and biotic homogenization. In contrast, the reduction in vegetation due to overgrazing by deer resulted in an increase in the relative importance of stochastic assembly processes, which enabled the coexistence of various species, including less competitive ones. Our results emphasize that although deer overabundance is of concern, their complete exclusion has a negative consequence from an ecological perspective.Because deer herbivory is an inherent process that affects the biodiversity of plants on the forest floor, the establishment of fences requires careful consideration to ensure the conservation of ecological processes and their associated biodiversity.

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Deer populations up, hunter populations down: Implications of interdependence of deer and hunter population dynamics on management

Cited by 86 publications

References 8 publications

Attitudes and motivations of Tennessee deer hunters toward quality deer management

Attitudes and motivations of Tennessee deer hunters toward quality deer management

A perfect storm: two ecosystem engineers interact to degrade deciduous forests of New Jersey

Deer herbivory affects the functional diversity of forest floor plants via changes in competition‐mediated assembly rules

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