Habitat use of white-tailed deer in relation to natural and anthropogenic landscape variables in the Clear Lake area of Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada
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Date
2016
Authors
Land, Kevin
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Abstract
The habitat use of thirteen female and four male GPS collared white-tailed deer, captured in the Clear Lake area of Riding Mountain National Park between 2012 and 2014, was examined. Range sizes were smallest during the summer and largest during the breeding season for both sexes, with an additional peak in female range size occurring in April. Female deer displayed a greater association with areas of human use and infrastructure than males, with the highest use of these areas by females occurring during the late winter and early spring. This increased use of developed areas by deer during the winter and early spring is thought to relate to factors including food resource availability, snow depth, predator avoidance, and thermal cover.
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Keywords
white-tailed deer, habitat use, riding mountain, national park, manitoba, canada