Optimal diet selection by white-tailed deer: Balancing reproduction with starvation risk

Optimal Diet Selection with Variable Nutrient Intake: Balancing Reproduction with Risk of Starvation

We develop a model to predict optimal diet selection when energy intake varies over consecutive foraging periods. The model assumes that fitness is maximized when the forager maximizes its net reproduction (survivorship x reproduction) over some specified time period. This goal differs from earlier risk-sensitive foraging models which assume that the forager minimizes the risk of failing to sat...

The White - Tailed Deer

Predator evasion by white-tailed deer fawns

Please cite this article in press as: Grovenbur j.anbehav.2012.04.005 Despite their importance for understanding predatoreprey interactions, factors that affect predator evasion behaviours of offspring of large ungulates are poorly understood. Our objective was to characterize the influence of selection and availability of escape cover and maternal presence on predator evasion by white-tailed d...

The White - Tailed Deer . Ilo

White-Tailed Deer of Florida1

Background The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is the most economically important big game mammal in North America and Florida. In 2011, over $50 billion was spent on deer hunting in the United States. Florida deer are also a major prey species for the endangered Florida panther (Felis concolour). As a consequence, deer have been the object of much management, research, and controversy.