10.5061/DRYAD.37PVMCVJZ
Michel, Eric
0000-0001-9571-5292
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Brackel, Katherine
South Dakota State University
Gullikson, Bailey
South Dakota State University
Jenks, Jonathan
South Dakota State University
Jensen, William
North Dakota Game and Fish Department
Data assessing survival variation between capture methods in white-tailed deer
Dryad
dataset
2021
2022-03-23T00:00:00Z
2022-03-23T00:00:00Z
en
28644 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Understanding what variables affect ungulate neonate survival is
imperative to successful conservation and management of the species.
Predation is commonly cited as a cause-specific source of mortality and
ecological covariates often influence neonate survival. However, variation
in survival estimates related to capture methodology has been documented
with opportunistically captured neonates generally displaying greater
survival than those captured via aid of vaginal implant transmitters
(VITs), likely because of increased left truncation observed in the
opportunistically captured datasets. Our goal was to assess if 3- and
6-month survival estimates varied by capture method while simultaneously
assessing if capture method affected model selection and interpretation of
ecological covariates for white-tailed deer neonates captured from three
study sites from 2014 to 2015 in North Dakota and South Dakota, USA. We
found survival varied by capture method for 3-month neonate survival with
opportunistically captured neonates displaying up to 26% greater survival
than their counterparts captured via VITs; however, this relationship was
not present for 6-month survival. We also found model selection and
subsequent interpretation of ecological covariates varied when analyzing
datasets comprised of neonates captured via VITs, neonates captured
opportunistically, and all neonates combined regardless of capture method.
When interpreting results from our VIT only analysis for 3-month survival,
we found survival varied by three time intervals and was lowest in the
first two weeks of life. Capture method did not affect 6-month survival,
which was most influenced by total precipitation occurring during 3 – 8
weeks of a neonate’s life and percent canopy cover found at a neonate’s
capture site. Our results support previous research that capture method
must be accounted for when deriving survival estimates for ungulate
neonates as it can impact derived estimates and subsequent interpretation
of results.