TY - JOUR
T1 - Factors affecting space use overlap by white-tailed deer in an urban landscape
AU - Walter, W. David
AU - Beringer, Jeff
AU - Hansen, Lonnie P.
AU - Fischer, Justin W.
AU - Millspaugh, Joshua J.
AU - Vercauteren, Kurt C.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this research was provided by private citizens from the City of Town and Country, Missouri, the Missouri Department of Conservation, Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project W-13-R-48, and the National Wildlife Research Center of the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and Wildlife Services.
PY - 2011/3
Y1 - 2011/3
N2 - Variation in the size and overlap of space use by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has broad implications for managing deer-human conflicts and disease spread and transmission in urban landscapes. Understanding which factors affect overlap of home range by various segments (i.e., age, sex) of an urban deer population has implications to direct contact between deer on disease epidemiology.We assessed size of home range and overlap of space use using the volume of intersection index (VI) for deer in an urban landscape by sex, age, season, and time of day. We found mean space use was larger for males than for females, for males <3 years old than for males ≥3 years old, and during nocturnal hours compared with diurnal hours.We also identified larger space use by both sexes during the nongrowing than the growing season. Overlap of space use for female and male deer in our urban landscape differed considerably depending on demographic (i.e., age) and environmental variables (i.e., time, season). For example, highest mean VIs occurred between 6-year-old females (mean = 0.51 ± 0.10) and 5- and 6-year-old males (mean = 0.49 ± 0.14); no mean VI was greater than 0.31 between females and males for any age combination. Variation in overlap of space use for urban deer provides new information for managing deer-human conflicts and direct transmission of disease between various segments of a deer population in an urban landscape.
AB - Variation in the size and overlap of space use by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has broad implications for managing deer-human conflicts and disease spread and transmission in urban landscapes. Understanding which factors affect overlap of home range by various segments (i.e., age, sex) of an urban deer population has implications to direct contact between deer on disease epidemiology.We assessed size of home range and overlap of space use using the volume of intersection index (VI) for deer in an urban landscape by sex, age, season, and time of day. We found mean space use was larger for males than for females, for males <3 years old than for males ≥3 years old, and during nocturnal hours compared with diurnal hours.We also identified larger space use by both sexes during the nongrowing than the growing season. Overlap of space use for female and male deer in our urban landscape differed considerably depending on demographic (i.e., age) and environmental variables (i.e., time, season). For example, highest mean VIs occurred between 6-year-old females (mean = 0.51 ± 0.10) and 5- and 6-year-old males (mean = 0.49 ± 0.14); no mean VI was greater than 0.31 between females and males for any age combination. Variation in overlap of space use for urban deer provides new information for managing deer-human conflicts and direct transmission of disease between various segments of a deer population in an urban landscape.
KW - Fixed kernel
KW - Home range
KW - Nocturnal
KW - Odocoileus virginianus
KW - Season
KW - Space use
KW - Volume of intersection
KW - White-tailed deer
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79957626526&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13658816.2010.524163
DO - 10.1080/13658816.2010.524163
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79957626526
SN - 1365-8816
VL - 25
SP - 379
EP - 392
JO - International Journal of Geographical Information Science
JF - International Journal of Geographical Information Science
IS - 3
ER -