Conservation Reserve Program is a key element for managing white-tailed deer populations at multiple spatial scales

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorNagy-Reis, Mariana
dc.contributor.authorLewis, Mark A.
dc.contributor.authorJensen, William F.
dc.contributor.authorBoyce, Mark S.
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-15T19:22:07Z
dc.date.available2025-04-15T19:22:07Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractUnderstanding the underlying mechanisms driving population demographics such as species-habitat relationships and the spatial scale in which these relationships occur is essential for developing optimal management strategies. Here we evaluated how landscape characteristics and winter severity measured at three spatial scales (1 km2, 9 km2, and hunting unit) influenced white-tailed deer occurrence and abundance across North Dakota by using 10 years of winter aerial survey data and generalized linear mixed effects models. In general, forest, wetland, and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands were the main drivers of deer occurrence and abundance in most of the spatial scales analyzed. However, the effects of habitat features vary between the home-range scale (9 km2) and the finer spatial scale (1 km2; i.e., within home ranges). While escape cover was the main factor driving white-tailed deer occurrence and abundance at broad spatial scales, at a fine spatial scale deer also selected for food (mainly residual winter cropland). With CRP appearing in nearly all top models, here we had strong evidence that this type of program will be fundamental to sustaining populations of white-tailed deer that can meet recreational demands. In addition, land managers should focus on ways to protect other escape covers (e.g., forest and wetland) on a broad spatial scale while encouraging landowners to supply winter resources at finer spatial scales. We therefore suggest a spatial multi-scale approach that involves partnerships among landowners and government agencies for effectively managing white-tailed deer.
dc.description.reviewstatusReviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelFaculty
dc.description.sponsorshipFinancial support for the collection and analysis of these data was provided by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, United States, Federal Aid Project W-67-R, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife Restoration funds, United States, CFDA #15.611 ... MAL gratefully acknowledges a NSERC Discovery grant and the Canada Research Chair Program. MSB thanks a NSERC Discovery grant and the Alberta Conservation Association.
dc.identifier.citationNagy-Reis, M. B., Lewis, M. A., Jensen, W. F., & Boyce, M. S. (2019). Conservation Reserve Program is a key element for managing white-tailed deer populations at multiple spatial scales. Journal of Environmental Management, 248, 109299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109299
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109299
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/21939
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherJournal of Environmental Management
dc.rightsCC BY-NC-ND 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectaerial survey
dc.subjectConservation Reserve Program
dc.subjectdeer management
dc.subjecthabitat selection
dc.subjectNorth Dakota
dc.subjectodocoileus virginianu
dc.titleConservation Reserve Program is a key element for managing white-tailed deer populations at multiple spatial scales
dc.typeArticle

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
nagyReis_mariana_jenvironmanag_2019.pdf
Size:
749.88 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Faculty Publications (BioMed Central & Faculty of Science)
 
University of Victoria Libraries

We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.