White‐tailed deer and coyote colonization: a response to Kilgo et al. (2019)

Bragina, Eugenia V.; Kays, Roland; Hody, Allison; Moorman, Christopher E.; Perno, Carlo Federico; Mills, L. Scott

doi:10.1002/jwmg.21766

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Instead, our data suggests that deer consumption by coyotes was ubiquitous throughout our sampling period and high across our study sites. Region-wide impacts on deer populations due to coyote predation have been thoroughly discussed over the last two decades [30,32,59,[90][91][92] with some arguing that decreases in antlerless harvest may be necessary to mitigate the effects of coyote consumption of fawns in the southeastern United States [30,32].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing springtime vertebrate prey of sympatric mesopredators in the southeastern United States using metabarcoding analysis

Youngmann,

Lance,

Kilgo

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Coyotes (Canis latrans) colonized the eastern United States over the last century and formed a 3-species predator guild with bobcats (Lynx rufus) and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) across much of the southeastern United States. Diets among the three species vary along with respective impacts on game species such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). To determine predation impacts on vertebrate prey and dietary overlap in consumption of prey items, we assessed diets of coyote, bobcat, and gray fox during spring, coinciding with white-tailed deer fawning and wild turkey nesting and brood rearing. We sampled across three sites along the Savannah River in South Carolina from mid-May through mid-June of 2020–2021. We collected 180 scat samples along 295.9 kilometers (71.1–122.4 km/site) of unpaved secondary roads and used DNA metabarcoding to determine vertebrate diet items. We identified predator species of scat using DNA metabarcoding and species-specific mtDNA fragment analysis (153 were coyote, 20 bobcat, and seven gray fox). Overall, we found evidence that two species, coyote and bobcat, consumed deer while all three consumed turkeys. Frequency of deer in the diet varied across sites for coyotes from 62–86% and wild turkey was present with a frequency of occurrence of 9% for coyotes, 5% for bobcats, and 14% for gray fox. Vertebrate diet specialization was evident across predator species with high frequency of deer in coyote diets, rabbits and small mammals in bobcat diets, and herpetofauna in gray fox diets. During deer fawning and wild turkey nesting and brood rearing, dietary overlap appears to be mediated by disparate selection of prey items, which reduced competition among coyotes, bobcats, and gray foxes. Use of DNA metabarcoding may augment our understanding of dietary preferences within this predator guild by providing increased resolution of diet composition among important game species.

show abstract

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing springtime vertebrate prey of sympatric mesopredators in the southeastern United States using metabarcoding analysis

Youngmann,

Lance,

Kilgo

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Factors including weather (Warbington et al 2017, Michel et al 2018), disease (McGovern et al 2020), and pulsed resource availability (Aubin et al 2022) can influence survival of neonatal deer. The importance of predators to neonatal deer survival and methods for managing predation have received considerable attention (Gulsby et al 2015, Conner et al 2016, Bragina et al 2019, Kilgo et al 2019, Dion et al 2020). Predators can exert a strong influence on neonate survival in some contexts (Kilgo et al 2012, Chitwood et al 2015 a , Kautz et al 2019, Edge et al 2023).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival, cause‐specific mortality, and population growth of white‐tailed deer in western Virginia

Clevinger,

Ford,

Kelly

et al. 2023

J Wildl Manag

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding the role of recruitment in population dynamics of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is important for management. In the central Appalachian Mountains, deer are part of a largely forested ecosystem that supports 3 carnivore species thought to be capable of influencing white‐tailed deer recruitment: black bears (Urus americanus), coyotes (Canis latrans), and bobcats (Lynx rufus). Yet little is known about predation, how other environmental factors influence recruitment, or the importance of neonate survival to white‐tailed deer population performance in the region. Our objectives were to identify causes of mortality for neonates, analyze effects of landscape attributes on survival of neonates, estimate survival rates for neonates and adult female white‐tailed deer, and to model population growth trends based on current vital rates and hypothetical harvest and neonate survival scenarios. During 2019–2020, we captured 57 neonate deer in Bath County, Virginia, USA, by monitoring 38 pregnant females equipped with global positioning system collars and vaginal implant transmitters and by conducting transect searches for recently born neonates. We observed 37 neonate mortalities and identified cause of death using field and genetic evidence. Mortalities included 28 predation events and 9 deaths from other causes (e.g., abandonment, malnutrition, disease). Black bears accounted for 48.6% of neonate mortalities, and 64.2% of predation events (n = 18), followed by bobcats (n = 5) and coyotes (n = 3). Annual survival for adult female deer was 0.871 and neonate survival to 12 weeks old was 0.310. Elevation was a significant predictor of neonate survival; mortality risk increased 20% for every 100‐m increase in elevation. Models of annual population growth using observed vital rates predicted an increasing population (λ = 1.10). A 10% increase in female harvest would still result in a potential population increase of 2% (λ = 1.02), but a 20% increase in harvest rate would result in a potential 7% decline (λ = 0.93). Neonate survival was higher near fertile valley bottoms and lower along forested ridges characterized by shallow, infertile soils and limited edge or early successional forests. While predation, largely influenced by black bears, was the leading cause of neonate mortality and contributed to low neonate survival, we observed little evidence of population decline, and suggest there is opportunity for a modest increase in harvest of female deer.

show abstract

White‐tailed deer and coyote colonization: a response to Kilgo et al. (2019)

Cited by 2 publications

References 17 publications

Assessing springtime vertebrate prey of sympatric mesopredators in the southeastern United States using metabarcoding analysis

Assessing springtime vertebrate prey of sympatric mesopredators in the southeastern United States using metabarcoding analysis

Survival, cause‐specific mortality, and population growth of white‐tailed deer in western Virginia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About