Coping with strong variations in winter severity: plastic habitat selection of deer at high density

Lay SummaryThe capacity of animals to alter their foraging strategy is essential to cope with changing environmental conditions and survive at high population densities. White-tailed deer used different foraging tactics between mild and harsh winters. As winter severity increased, deer decreased their exposure to cold temperature, and traded-off the costs associated with locomotion in deep snow cover with the benefits of forage acquisition. Ultimately, they selected different foraging areas between harsh and mild winters.