10.5061/DRYAD.M37PVMD18
Van Buskirk, Amanda
0000-0003-4718-1008
University of Georgia
Rosenberry, Christopher
Pennsylvania Game Commission
Wallingford, Bret
Pennsylvania Game Commission
Just Domoto, Emily
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
McDill, Marc
0000-0002-1879-7973
Pennsylvania State University
Drohan, Patrick
Pennsylvania State University
Diefenbach, Duane
0000-0001-5111-1147
United States Geological Survey
Models to assess ability to achieve localized areas of reduced
white-tailed deer density
Dryad
dataset
2020
FOS: Biological sciences
Pennsylvania Game Commission
https://ror.org/03g9t4w96
1434-03HQRU1548
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
https://ror.org/04bangx95
4400015622
2020-12-31T00:00:00Z
2020-12-31T00:00:00Z
en
364972 bytes
5
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Localized management of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
involves the removal of matriarchal family units with the intent to create
areas of reduced deer density. However, application of this approach has
not always been successful, possibly because of female dispersal and high
deer densities. We developed a spatially explicit, agent-based model to
investigate the intensity of deer removal required to locally reduce deer
density depending on the surrounding deer density, dispersal behavior, and
size and shape of the area of localized reduction. Application of this
model is illustrated using the example of abundant deer populations in
Pennsylvania, USA. Most scenarios required at least 5 years before
substantial deer density reductions occurred. Our model indicated that a
localized reduction was successful for scenarios in which the surrounding
deer density was lowest (30 deer/mi²), localized antlerless harvest rates
were ≥ 30%, and the removal area was 5 mi² or larger. When the size of the
removal area was < 5 mi2, end population density was highly
variable and, in some scenarios, exceeded the initial density. The shape
of the area of localized reduction had less influence on the ability to
reduce deer density than the size. There were no differences in mean deer
density in the same size circle or square removal areas. Similarly,
increasing the ratio of sides (length : width) in rectangular removal
areas had little influence on the ability to locally reduce deer
densities. Situations in which deer density was higher (40 or 50 deer/mi2)
required antlerless removal rates to exceed 30% and took more than 5 years
to considerably reduce density in the localized area regardless of its
size. These results indicate that the size of the area of reduction,
surrounding deer density, and antlerless harvest rate are the most
influential factors in locally reducing deer density. Therefore, localized
management likely can be an effective strategy for lower density herds,
especially in larger removal areas. For high density herds, the success of
this strategy would depend most on the ability of resource managers to
achieve consistently high antlerless harvest rates.
There are two Netlogo models that accompany the manuscript. The first
model "Deer Stable" is a Netlogo model that is used to simulate
a realistic model deer population. The second model "Deer
Reduction"is a Netlogo model that runs various scenarios to explore
the effect of different variables on the ability to locally reduce deer
density. Both models are parameterized using data from peer-reviewed
literature and from local data on deer populations in Pennsylvania, USA.
The user can click on the "Info" tab within both models to see a
description of how the models are run.