Impacts of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) on Understory Vegetation and Structure in the Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan, USA PDF Download
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Author: Stacie Ann Holmes
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest surveys
Languages : en
Pages : 43
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Author: Stacie Ann Holmes
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest surveys
Languages : en
Pages : 43
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Author: Autumn E. Sabo
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Ungulates are widely regarded as keystone herbivores and ecosystem engineers in ecosystems around the world. In forests of eastern North America, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can directly affect the presence, abundance, and reproductive success of many plant species via herbivory. Moreover, the direct effects of herbivory, along with the impacts of associated deer activities, may perturb the forest understory environment by altering the availability of understory light and soil resources. I used deer exclosures and motion-sensitive video cameras to explore the consequences of differing population densities of deer on understory environmental conditions, community composition, and interactions between deer, the environment and vegetation. I focused on several deer-mediated environmental factors including sapling abundance, light availability, soil compaction and thickness of the soil E horizon, in addition to other site characteristics including overstory cover and soil texture and chemistry. My three projects included a total of nine study sites that were scattered across northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, primarily in northern hardwood forests dominated by Acer saccharum. Across my study areas, herbivory was concentrated on woody regeneration within easy reach of deer. Environmental modifications wrought by deer browsing, such as higher light availability, soil compaction and thickness of the soil E horizon layer, affected the richness and abundance of native tree seedlings, shrubs and herbs, often in species-specific manners, and encouraged invasion by exotic species. Thus, I suggest a reexamination of the common assumption that understory community shifts in response to changes in deer abundance stem primarily from tissue removal and encourage further investigation of indirect mechanisms mediated by deer. Direct and indirect effects of abundant deer appeared to act in concert to diminish the efficacy of environmental variation to drive community heterogeneity, or the realized niche. With reduced deer abundance, particularly where overstory basal area was low, tree species richness increased. Such results provide evidence that silvicultural treatments like gap creation, in conjunction with deer control, can help reverse biotic homogenization of forest communities.
Author:
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Category : Agricultural conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 404
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"The bibliography is a guide to recent scientific literature covering effects of agricultural conservation practices on fish and wildlife. The citations listed here provide information on how conservation programs and practices designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat, as well as those intended for other purposes (e.g., water quality improvement), affect various aquatic and terrestrial fauna"--Abstract.
Author: John Bryan Lewis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Understory plants
Languages : en
Pages : 104
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Author: Sara A. Laux
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 129
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Abstract: Browsing by white-tailed deer has alters plant species diversity of the forest understory across much of North America. A reduced understory may lead to the simplification of the forest-floor microhabitat, causing broad scale shifts in the community composition and abundance of litter-dwelling arthropods and small mammals. The objectives of this study were to 1) document changes in the forest-floor microhabitat as a result of over-browsing by deer and 2) determine if differential browsing pressures indirectly affect faunal biodiversity (litter-dwelling arthropods and small mammals) of forest ecosystems. I predicted that browsing within the understory will reduce structural complexity of the forest-floor microhabitat, and its dependent community. A combination of comparative (high vs. low deer impact) and exclosure studies were used to document the effects of herbivory on forest ecosystems. Fewer seedlings and less herbaceous and canopy cover occurred in areas outside exclosures and in areas heavily impacted by deer in contrast to those impacted less, and as percent herbaceous cover correlated strongly with leaf litter biomass and depth, browsing reduces structural complexity of the forest-floor microhabitat. More mesofauna, Coleoptera and Araneae, were present inside than outside deer exclosures. Non-native species (i.e., centipedes, gastropods, isopods and millipedes) were more abundant in areas of high deer impact compared to areas of lower impact. No differences in small mammal abundance were detected in response to the indirect effects of browsing; however, areas of low impact were more speciose and supported significantly more insectivorous small mammals (Soricidae). Soricids require moist habitats with adequate cover and ample invertebrate prey. Capture rates of the Masked Shrew, Sorex cinereus, were positively correlated with litter depth and invertebrate abundance of the preceding year. These findings suggest that even where total soricid and arthropod abundance did not vary in response to differential levels of deer impacts, simplification of the forest-floor microhabitat can reduce diversity and species composition of litter-dwelling animals. Deer may also facilitate the invasion of non-native species and alter trophic cascades within the forest-floor ecosystem.
Author:
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 404
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Author: Gabrielle Nicole Ripa
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Knowledge of the impacts of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; hereafter deer) as dominant herbivores throughout the Southeastern United States of America is lacking. To address this, three paired experimental units of exclosures and controls were constructed in 2000 on three Wildlife Management Areas across Mississippi within the ecoregions of the Upper Coastal Plain, Lower Coastal Plain, and the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Vegetation was sampled in the summers of 2000, 2005, and 2021 including vegetation structure, canopy coverage, basal area, and species composition. Additionally, in 2005 and 2021, biomass was sampled to determine potential impacts on nutritional carrying capacity. Among the three study sites, vegetation metrics followed successional trends and were not influenced by herbivory or lack thereof. Additionally, regional differences in nutritional carrying capacity seemed to be of greater importance than herbivory. This research illustrates the difference in effects of deer by region and forest type.
Author: Timothy M. Kelley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 124
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Author: Mariah Slaughter
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ISBN:
Category : Biology
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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The prolonged overabundance of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) throughout the deciduous forests of eastern North America has resulted in widespread changes in the understory community. Studies have demonstrated that the exclusion of deer can allow some aspects of the understory to recover, but there are strong time-lags for deer-preferred species. Additionally, these exclosures only test the presence/absence of deer, which is not a feasible management option or desirable as deer are a part of the community. Here I evaluate how large-scale deer density manipulations within the Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative of Pennsylvania affected understory vegetation communities. Using data from six periodic intensive vegetation surveys I assessed multiple measures of understory response, from both woody and non-woody components of the understory, including potential time-lags in recovery. Most measures I used showed some recovery while deer densities were reduced, and negative responses to increasing deer density. Often recovery responses showed varied degrees of time-lag. Overall, these findings suggest that large-scale manipulations in deer density are a viable management plan to promote community recovery following long-term deer overabundance. However, the recovery process can quickly be reversed if deer density rises, so consistent management policies are required to see long-term change.
Author: Jacob J. Trowbridge
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Animal population density
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Given that overabundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can exert lasting negative effects in forested ecosystems, management of deer has been a foremost conservation concern in eastern North America since the last century. Although knowledge of density impacts on body mass, pregnancy rates, and forest regeneration are vital for deer management, relatively few studies have assessed these relationships in the same study area for a >5-year period. I took advantage of a managed culling program to investigate the impacts of deer density on body mass, pregnancy rates, and native forest understory and trillium (Trillium grandiflorium) regeneration at Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CUVA), Ohio, during 2016-2022. Deer densities were estimated using distance sampling in November and deer were culled by sharpshooters the following January-March. Each deer culled was aged, sexed, weighed, and inspected for fetuses (recorded as present or absent). Deer densities ranged from 8.6-18.0 deer/km2 and deer removed each study year varied between 205 and 450. Concurrently, the 1-6 tallest native seedlings per genera per subplot were measured in July-August in 25 fenced and unfenced paired plots and in long-term ecological monitoring (LTEM) plots. Browse was estimated in unfenced paired plots in alternating years. Trillium stem heights in both unfenced controls/fenced exclosures and browse in unfenced control plots were collected in April-June each year. Using a linear mixed model (LME), I analyzed change in body mass of culled deer and found a significant negative relationship with current deer density (P
