Recruitment Dynamics of Black-Tailed Deer in the Western Cascades

Gilbert, Brian A.; Raedeke, Kenneth J.

doi:10.2193/0022-541x(2004)068[0120:rdobdi]2.0.co;2

Cited by 28 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…If nutritional condition represents the relative position of the population with respect to K (Piasecke and Bender ), then that position would be expected to be partially reflected in the following year. Time lags and carryover effects in response to resource limitation are becoming increasingly recognized as influential factors in the regulation of ungulate populations (Fryxell , Gilbert and Raedeke , Keyser et al , Monteith et al , Harrison et al ), and stress the importance of not considering a particular season or year in isolation (Kie et al , Monteith et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life-history characteristics of mule deer: Effects of nutrition in a variable environment

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vital rates of large herbivores normally respond to increased resource limitation by following a progressive sequence of effects on life‐history characteristics from survival of young, age at first reproduction, reproduction of adults, to adult survival. Expected changes in life‐history characteristics, however, should operate through changes in nutritional condition, which is the integrator of nutritional intake and demands represented primarily by the deposition and catabolism of body fat. Elucidating seasonal patterns of nutritional condition and its relative influence on individual and population performance should improve our understanding of life‐history strategies and population regulation of ungulates, provide insight into the capacity of available habitat to support population growth, and allow assessment of the underlying consequences of mortality on population dynamics. We acquired longitudinal data on individual female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and linked those data with environmental and population characteristics. Our goal was to provide a nutritional basis for understanding life‐history strategies of these large mammals, and to aid in the conservation and management of large herbivores in general. We studied a migratory population of mule deer that overwintered in Round Valley on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, California, USA, and was subject to a highly variable climate and predation from a suite of large carnivores. We intensively monitored nutritional and life‐history characteristics of this population during 1997–2009 as it recovered from a population crash, which occurred during 1985–1991. Deer in Round Valley migrated to high‐elevation summer ranges on both sides of the crest of the Sierra Nevada (Sierra crest), where a rain shadow resulted in a mesic and more forested range on the west side compared with xeric conditions east of the Sierra crest. Average survival of neonatal mule deer to 140 days of age during 2006–2008 was 0.33 (SE = 0.091), but was lower for neonates on the west side (0.13, SE = 0.092) compared with those on the east side (0.44, SE = 0.11) of the Sierra crest. Birth mass and nutritional condition of mothers had a positive effect on survival of young; however, those effects were evident only for neonates born east of the crest where predation pressure was less intense compared with the west side. Black bear (Ursus americanus) predation was the main cause of mortality for west‐side young (mortality rate = 0.63, SE = 0.97) compared with canid and felid predation for east‐side young (0.29, SE = 0.076). Mean autumn recruitment of young during 1997–2008 was lower for females on the west side (0.42, SE = 0.037) than for females on the east side (0.70, SE = 0.041) of the crest, and was affected positively by March ingesta‐free body fat (IFBFat) of individual females. At the level of the population, ratios of young‐to‐adult females (1991–2009) were highly variable and strongly related to March IFBFat of adult females during the current and preceding year. Repro...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life-history characteristics of mule deer: Effects of nutrition in a variable environment

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Across each summer range, we calculated the mean minimum temperature in June (°C), total precipitation in June (cm), cumulative average precipitation from May through September (cm), and the average maximum temperature from June through August (°C). June is the month that fawns are born, and we suspected that their survival may be reduced by cold, wet weather (Gilbert & Raedeke, ). Meanwhile, summer precipitation has been correlated with forage quality (Blanchard et al ., ), increased recruitment (Hurley et al ., ), and maternal condition in ungulates (Cook et al ., ), while high summer temperatures have been associated with smaller litter sizes (Monteith et al ., ) and reduced recruitment (Monteith et al ., ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increases in residential and energy development are associated with reductions in recruitment for a large ungulate

Johnson

Sushinsky

Holland

et al. 2016

Global Change Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Land-use change due to anthropogenic development is pervasive across the globe and commonly associated with negative consequences for biodiversity. While land-use change has been linked to shifts in the behavior and habitatuse patterns of wildlife species, little is known about its influence on animal population dynamics, despite the relevance of such information for conservation. We conducted the first broad-scale investigation correlating temporal patterns of land-use change with the demographic rates of mule deer, an iconic species in the western United States experiencing wide-scale population declines. We employed a unique combination of long-term (1980-2010) data on residential and energy development across western Colorado, in conjunction with congruent data on deer recruitment, to quantify annual changes in land-use and correlate those changes with annual indices of demographic performance. We also examined annual variation in weather conditions, which are well recognized to influence ungulate productivity, and provided a basis for comparing the relative strength of different covariates in their association with deer recruitment. Using linear mixed models, we found that increasing residential and energy development within deer habitat were correlated with declining recruitment rates, particularly within seasonal winter ranges. Residential housing had two times the magnitude of effect of any other factor we investigated, and energy development had an effect size similar to key weather variables known to be important to ungulate dynamics. This analysis is the first to correlate a demographic response in mule deer with residential and energy development at large spatial extents relevant to population performance, suggesting that further increases in these development types on deer ranges are not compatible with the goal of maintaining highly productive deer populations. Our results underscore the significance of expanding residential development on mule deer populations, a factor that has received little research attention in recent years, despite its rapidly increasing footprint across the landscape.

show abstract

“…Early-life survival is very sensitive to climatic conditions (Gilbert and Raedeke 2004;Jones et al 2005); hypothermia has been shown to be one of the most important causes of fawn mortality in the absence of predators (Andersen and Linnell 1998;Olson et al 2005). In particular, the period shortly after birth is critical due to limited energy reserves and the small body size of fawns [reviewed for lambs (Ovis aries) by Nowak and Poindron (2006)].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal and individual effects in selection of bed sites and their consequences for fawn survival at different spatial scales

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examined the relationship between survival of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) fawns at Trois Fontaines, Champagne-Ardennes, France, and factors related to bed-site selection (predator avoidance and thermoregulation) and maternal food resources (forage availability in the maternal home range). Previous studies have demonstrated that at small scales, the young of large herbivores select bed sites independently from their mothers, although this selection takes place within the limits of their mother's home range. Fawn survival was influenced largely by the availability of good bed sites within the maternal home range, not by the fawn's selection of bed sites; however, selection for thermal cover when selecting bed sites positively influenced survival of young fawns. Typical features of a good home range included close proximity to habitat edges, which is related to forage accessibility for roe deer. The availability of bed sites changed as fawns aged, probably due to an increased mobility of the fawn or a different use of the home range by the mother; sites offering high concealment and thermal protection became less available in favor of areas with higher forage accessibility. Despite the minor influence of bed-site selection on survival, roe deer fawns strongly selected their bed sites according to several environmental factors linked to predator avoidance and thermoregulation. Fawns selected for sites providing concealment, light penetration, and avoided signs of wild boar (Sus scrofa) activity. Avoidance of sites with high light penetration by young fawns positively affected their survival, confirming a negative effect on thermoregulation due to reduced thermal cover. Selection for light penetration by older fawns was less clear. We discuss these results in the context of cross-generational effects in habitat selection across multiple scales, and the potential influence of the 'ghost of predation past'.

show abstract

Recruitment Dynamics of Black-Tailed Deer in the Western Cascades

Cited by 28 publications

References 32 publications

Life-history characteristics of mule deer: Effects of nutrition in a variable environment

Life-history characteristics of mule deer: Effects of nutrition in a variable environment

Increases in residential and energy development are associated with reductions in recruitment for a large ungulate

Maternal and individual effects in selection of bed sites and their consequences for fawn survival at different spatial scales

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About