Patterns in winter nutritional status of white‐tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus populations in Maine, USA
2002
Ditchkoff, Stephen S. | Servello, Frederick A.
We used urinary indices to determine temporal and regional patterns in nutritional status of white‐tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus in nine wintering areas in northern and central Maine, USA. Winter severity was greater in the northern region, and we expected deer in that region to exhibit greater evidence for nutritional restriction. We collected an average of 26 urine samples from snow on a biweekly basis during 1 January‐ 31 March 1993 in each wintering area and analyzed them for ratios of urea nitrogen (N):creatinine (C), an index of nutritional status, and potassium (K):creatinine (C), an index of forage intake. Mean urea N:C ratios increased to 3.0 and 3.3 during March in northern and central Maine, respectively, suggesting that nutritional status of deer in these populations was poor. There were no differences in ratios of urea N:C between regions within time periods, except for late March when urea N:C ratios were greater in the central region. The proportions of deer exhibiting severe nutritional restriction (urea N:C ≥3.5) were greatest in March in both regions (0.16–0.31); however, proportions were highly variable among populations (range: 0–0.44). K:C ratios decreased during winter, but did not differ among regions. Our results indicate that urinary indices of free‐ranging deer populations in wintering areas vary greatly, and we contend that high variability among populations is an important consideration for designing future deer research.
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