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White‐Tailed Deer Movements in a Chronic Wasting Disease Area in South‐Central Wisconsin
Author(s) -
SKULDT LESA H.,
MATHEWS NANCY E.,
OYER ANNE M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the journal of wildlife management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1937-2817
pISSN - 0022-541X
DOI - 10.2193/2006-469
Subject(s) - chronic wasting disease , odocoileus , biological dispersal , biology , wasting , fragmentation (computing) , ecology , disease , demography , medicine , population , prion protein , pathology , sociology , scrapie , endocrinology
To focus white‐tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) management within a chronic wasting disease‐infected area in south‐central Wisconsin, USA, we assessed deer movements and related dispersal to variation in landscape pattern, deer density, and harvest intensity. We radiocollared and monitored 165 deer between 2003 and 2005. Yearling males that dispersed (45%) had greater forest edge (i.e., fragmentation) within natal home ranges. Exploratory movements were rare for adult females. Transient and migratory movements were rare among all deer (<5%). Although yearling males have low chronic wasting disease prevalence rates, they may be infected before dispersal due to variable incubation times. Managers should increase yearling male harvest and consider removing young males in areas of higher forest edge.