Seasonal Food Selection and Digestibility by Tame White-Tailed Deer in Central Maine

Crawford, Hewlette S.

doi:10.2307/3808230

Cited by 61 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Food items which dominated in LD diets remained almost absent from HD rumens. For instance Liliacae, such as Yellow Clintonia and Wild-Lily-of-the-Valley, which White-tailed Deer normally consume in the Northeast (Crawford 1982;Korschgen et al 1980;McCaffery et al 1974;Skinner and Telfer 1974;Waller and Alverson 1997) occupied a marginal volume in HD rumens. Liliacae are particularly vulnerable to deer browsing Waller and Alverson 1997) and can be used as indicators to estimate the impact of White-tailed Deer on plant communities (Balgooyen and Waller 1995).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mushrooms were consumed mostly in spring in HD and in fall in LD, which may be explained by different seasonal availability or by the possibility that White-tailed Deer feed on them when preferred foods are rare at both ends of the growing season. Many studies reported large amounts of mushrooms in White-tailed Deer diet (Crawford 1982;Johnson et al 1995;Korschgen et al 1980;McCaffery et al 1974), but nobody has yet considered the potential impact of deer herbivory on mushrooms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plant phenology influences their diet; forbs and leaves of deciduous woody plants are common food items in spring and summer, and fruits become major components of the autumn diet. White-tailed Deer also consume mushrooms in natural ecosystems (Crawford 1982;Johnson et al 1995;Korschgen et al 1980;Short 1971;Skinner and Telfer 1974), whereas farm crops can be major food sources in agricultural landscapes (Nixon et al 1991). During winter, White-tailed Deer switch to twigs of both deciduous and evergreen woody plants and, where snow cover allows access, they also use grasses and farm crops left after harvest (Johnson et al 1995;McCaffery et al 1974;McCullough 1985;Nixon et al 1991;Skinner and Telfer 1974).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Summer Diet of Two White-tailed Deer, <em>Odocoileus virginianus</em>, Populations Living at Low and High Density in Southern Québec

et al. 2004

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We investigated summer diets of two White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations through rumen content analyses. Samples from 93 deer were collected in a low density, LD (1 deer/km2) and a high density, HD (14 deer/km2) area of southern Québec during the growing seasons of 1997 and 1998. Availability of preferred forage in forests was greater in LD than in HD, whereas agriculture covered a larger proportion of the area in HD than LD. Rumen composition differed between the two populations. Deer from HD consumed less forbs and leaves of shrubs and trees than did LD deer, whereas they consumed more fruits, grasses and farm crops. The rarity in HD rumens of food items common in LD, as well as in many parts of the White-tailed Deer range (i.e., Lilliacae), indicated that deer could not compensate for the rarity of preferred forest forage by increasing foraging time and had to feed on cultivated crops. Rumen contents of LD deer had a higher level of cell solubles and lignin, which reflected their greater reliance on quality forage growing in forests. Feeding habits and forage quality can explain why deer body size decreased in HD between the 1970s and 1990s whereas LD deer remained large.Nous avons examiné le régime alimentaire estival de deux populations de cerf de Virginie (Odocoileus virginianus) par l’analyse du contenu des rumens. Des échantillons ont été prélevés sur 93 cerfs provenant d’un secteur à faible densité de cerfs, LD, (1 cerf/km2) et d’un secteur à haute densité, HD, (14 cerfs/km2) du sud du Québec durant la saison de croissance des végétaux de 1997 et 1998. La disponibilité des aliments forestiers préférés des cerfs était plus grande dans LD que dans HD alors que la proportion du territoire agricole était supérieure dans HD. La composition des rumens des cerfs de chacune des régions différait. Les cerfs de HD ont consommé de moins grandes proportions de plantes herbacées et de feuilles d’arbustes et d’arbres que ceux du secteur LD, mais de plus grandes proportions de fruits, de graminées et de plantes agricoles. La rareté dans les rumens du secteur HD d’aliments communs dans ceux du secteur LD et dans plusieurs autres régions de l’aire de répartition du cerf (e.g., Lilliacae), indique que les cerfs du secteur HD ne pouvaient compenser pour la rareté de leurs aliments préférés par un accroissement de la durée de la quête alimentaire, et qu’ils devaient consommer des plantes agricoles. Les cerfs de LD ont mangé des aliments contenant plus de solubles cellulaires et de lignine que ceux de HD, ce qui reflète une consommation de plantes forestières de bonne qualité. Le régime alimentaire et la qualité de la nourriture peuvent expliquer pourquoi la taille des cerfs de HD a diminué entre les années 1970 et 1990 alors que celle des cerfs de LD est demeurée grande.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Summer Diet of Two White-tailed Deer, <em>Odocoileus virginianus</em>, Populations Living at Low and High Density in Southern Québec

et al. 2004

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“…In addition to an abundance of research on forest ecology and silviculture, studies done by or in cooperation with Forest Service scientists have covered a range of topics, such as measurement techniques , Kidd 1952, Lindemuth 2007, tree growth (Blum and Solomon 1980, Solomon and Frank 1983, Solomon and Seegrist 1983, leaf area relationships Seymour 2003, 2010;Maguire et al 1998), root structure (Tian 2002), soils and site quality , McLintock 1959, wood properties and decay (Garber et al 2005), genetics (Hawley et al 2005), understory plants , Olson et al 2011, Safford et al 1969, songbirds and Hart 1961, Crawford 1982, Crawford and Frank 1988, Grisez 1954. There has always been great potential for additional research, using the conditions represented within the long-term study to answer questions about ecology and management.…”

Section: Gtr-nrs-p-123mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bees of Maine, with a State Species Checklist

Dibble

Drummond

Stubbs

et al. 2017

Northeastern Naturalist

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The Penobscot Experimental Forest (PEF) in Maine has been the site of U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station (previously Northeastern Forest Experiment Station) research on northern conifer silviculture and ecology since 1950. Purchased by forest industry and leased to the Forest Service for long-term experimentation, the PEF was donated to the University of Maine Foundation in 1994. Since that time, the University and the Forest Service have worked in collaboration to advance the PEF as a site for research, demonstration, and education. This publication reports the history of the PEF during its first 60 years (1950 to 2010) and presents highlights of research accomplishments in silviculture, ecology, ecophysiology, nutrient cycling, botany, and other areas. Issues of data management and forest management planning are addressed. Also included is a bibliography of publications originating from research on the PEF, as well as recollections of a research forester stationed there for 30 years.More than half a century of work on the PEF has served as an important source of information for practitioners and policy makers in the Acadian Forest region of the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, and informed the practice of silviculture nationally and internationally. Long-term consistency in treatment application and measurement; stand-level replication; and accessible, digital data, metadata, and records archives have facilitated hundreds of studies and made the PEF an invaluable and highly influential research site. The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Forest Service of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. DEDICATIONSustaining long-term research at experimental forests depends on the foresight, commitment, and dedication of many people over decades. For more than 60 years, research on forest ecology and silviculture has been conducted on the Penobscot Experimental Forest. The men and women who do this work day in, day out, deserve much of the credit for the longevity and success of this endeavor. Among those who have contributed or are continuing to contribute to this ongoing research are scientists, professionals, and technicians with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and the University of Maine, who work in partnership to maintain the studies and the site. Over the years, hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Maine and elsewhere have worked side by side with others from the University and the Forest Service to carry out the research described in these pages.We thank all those who have been involved with the Penobscot Experimental Forest since 1950 collecting, managing, and analyzing data; implementing technology transfer; maintaining the forest and infrastructure; and providing administrati...

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“…Digestibility and protein levels are the most important indicators of quality in ruminants' diet (Willms 1978;Crawford 1982), while fibre is usually associated with a decline in digestibility (Holechek et al 1982;Van Soest 1982). Low protein and energy levels can limit animal production more than the amount of forage available (Starkey et al 1982), especially in regions with periods of abundant food production followed by periods of low forage availability of poor nutritional value.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of endemic leguminous forage shrubs from the Canary Islands. 3 Organic constituents and forage digestibility

Chinea¹,

García-Criado

García-Ciudad

2008

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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Seasonal Food Selection and Digestibility by Tame White-Tailed Deer in Central Maine

Cited by 61 publications

References 9 publications

Summer Diet of Two White-tailed Deer, <em>Odocoileus virginianus</em>, Populations Living at Low and High Density in Southern Québec

Summer Diet of Two White-tailed Deer, <em>Odocoileus virginianus</em>, Populations Living at Low and High Density in Southern Québec

Bees of Maine, with a State Species Checklist

Evaluation of endemic leguminous forage shrubs from the Canary Islands. 3 Organic constituents and forage digestibility

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