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1 March 2008 Seasonal Ranges and Site Fidelity of Adult Male White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Southern Texas
Mickey W. Hellickson, Tyler A. Campbell, Karl V. Miller, R. Larry Marchinton, Charles A. DeYoung
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Abstract

Much is known about movements of female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). However, relatively few investigations have been directed toward free-ranging male deer and even fewer have involved mature (≥4 years old) males. Our objectives were to characterize utilization distributions and site fidelity, and to evaluate the subdominant-dominant-floater model using an extensive radiotelemetry dataset collected from male deer ≥1.5 years old in southern Texas. We generated home ranges and core areas of 96 males from 16,696 location estimates collected during January 1993–June 1995. Annual home-range size did not differ among age categories. Males maintained smaller home ranges during spring than during other seasons and old males (≥7 years old) displayed smaller seasonal home ranges than young or mature males. Deer exhibited greater fidelity to home range during summer than during spring, prerut, and rut seasons. We detected limited evidence supporting the subdominant-dominant-floater model. The high fidelity to home range between years that we saw suggests little between-year shifting; however, annual home-range sizes exceeded the acreage of most private landholdings, which should be considered when formulating management plans.

Mickey W. Hellickson, Tyler A. Campbell, Karl V. Miller, R. Larry Marchinton, and Charles A. DeYoung "Seasonal Ranges and Site Fidelity of Adult Male White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Southern Texas," The Southwestern Naturalist 53(1), 1-8, (1 March 2008). https://doi.org/10.1894/0038-4909(2008)53[1:SRASFO]2.0.CO;2
Received: 12 June 2006; Accepted: 1 June 2007; Published: 1 March 2008
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