Activity patterns of White-tail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in an urban ecosystem

• In Event: Poster Presentation and Judging for: Anthropology; Botany; Conservation Ecology; Environmental Science; Freshwater Science; Geosciences; Mathematics & Computer Science; Neuroscience; Physics & Eng; Science Education; Terrestrial Ecology & Management.
  In Poster Session: Terrestrial Ecology Poster Session

Abstract

Activity patterns of white-tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were investigated in an urban ecosystem. The study occurred on the East Texas Baptist University Environmental Studies Area (EnStA) from 14 October 2014 to 30 November 2017. The EnStA is located in Marshall, TX (32^o33’N; 94^o22’W) and is bordered on the east by private homes and a cemetery, on the north by a five-lane highway, and on the south by the athletic fields of East Texas Baptist University. Hunting is not allowed on the site as this area is located entirely within the Marshall city-limits. Thus, one objective of our study was to investigate if the non-hunted urban population varied its activity seasonally in relation to hunting season outside of the city limits. A second objective was to investigate activity in relation to selected climatic variables of temperature (minimum, maximum, daily mean temperature) and precipitation. We also investigated the possibility of activity changing in relation to lunar phase. Results of our study indicated that the present population was generally crepuscular in its behavior with a nocturnal shift during the full moon of the lunar phase.

Authors

• Lindsey Settles, East Texas Baptist University

• Troy A Ladine, East Texas Baptist University