Survival of white-tailed deer in intensively farmed areas of Illinois

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles M Nixon ◽  
Lonnie P Hansen ◽  
Paul A Brewer ◽  
James E Chelsvig ◽  
Terry L Esker ◽  
...  

Survival of 265 female and 224 male [Formula: see text]1-year-old white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) marked on 3 study areas in central and northern Illinois was examined. Females lived, on average, 5.5 years and males 2.5 years from birth. Twenty-four of the 265 females lived for at least 10 years from birth, but only 14 males for at least 5 years. The oldest female was 18 years of age and the oldest male 9 years old when killed. For both sexes, deaths were concentrated in the fall, with males more likely to die than females. Males were more likely to die from hunting and females from other causes. Known wounding deaths were 1 for every 3 retrieved deer for archers and 1 for every 8 for firearms hunters. Dispersing male and female yearlings and 2-year-olds suffered greater mortality than did sedentary deer. Annual survival rates of yearling and older females ranged from 0.56 (dispersing 2-year-olds) to 0.92 (8-year-olds). Survival was significantly reduced for 5-year-old females compared with those both older and younger. Annual survival of rates males ranged from 0.35 (dispersing 2-year-olds) to 0.76 (sedentary yearlings).

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwayne R. Etter ◽  
Jeanette A. Thomas ◽  
Charles M. Nixon ◽  
Joseph B. Sullivan

Emigration and survival were examined for 13 orphaned and 94 nonorphaned female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) captured at < 10 months of age from free-ranging populations in Illinois. Emigration rates were higher (P = 0.026) for female orphans than for nonorphans. Nine of 13 (69%) orphans emigrated in spring through early summer. In contrast, only 35 of 94 (37%) nonorphans emigrated. Annual survival rates for all females from three Illinois study areas were 0.59, 0.71, and 0.80 for the east-central, west-central, and northern study areas, respectively. Possible stimuli for emigration among orphaned female white-tailed deer include pregnancy, low social position, and loss of maternal support.


2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard E. Major ◽  
Greg Gowing

To determine relative survival rates of small birds occupying small, linear strips of woodland compared with large patches of woodland, marked populations of red-capped robins were monitored over a two-year period. In total, 196 male robins were banded with unique colour combinations in 10 woodland remnants and censused by song playback at half-yearly intervals. The Cormack–Jolly–Seber method was used to calculate half-yearly survival probabilities for birds in the two habitat configurations and the strongest model included separate survival parameters for summer (36.2% 5.1) and autumn (88.9% 13.5) half-years, but a constant recapture probability (50.5% 7.2). The inclusion of separate parameters for the large and linear habitat configurations reduced the strength of the model, indicating that there was no significant difference between the survival rates of birds occupying small, linear strips of woodland and birds occupying large patches of woodland. The mean annual survival, determined by multiplying the half-yearly survival probabilities, was 32%, which is low, compared with the annual survival of other Petroica robins. Although no banded birds were located away from the banding site, we suspect that much of the ‘mortality’ represented emigration during the summer half-year. Under this scenario a better estimate of annual survival (79%) might be achieved by extrapolation of survival over the winter half-year. This study provides no data to support the contention that adult mortality is higher in small, linear strips of habitat, although further data on the fate of birds that disappear from remnants is required before this is conclusive. In addition, to detect a 20% difference in survival using similar methods to the present study, with their accompanying sources of variation, at least 10 times the number of birds would need to be monitored. This might most effectively be done as a co-operative banding project.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Halstead ◽  
Glenn D. Wylie ◽  
Melissa Amarello ◽  
Jeffrey J. Smith ◽  
Michelle E. Thompson ◽  
...  

Abstract The San Francisco gartersnake Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia has been federally listed as endangered since 1967, but little demographic information exists for this species. We examined the demography of a San Francisco gartersnake population on approximately 213 ha of California coastal prairie in San Mateo County, California, from 2007 to 2010. The best-supported mark–recapture model indicated annual variation in daily capture probabilities and annual survival rates. Abundance increased throughout the study period, with a mean total population from 2008 to 2010 of 443 (95% CI  =  313–646) individuals. Annual survival was slightly greater than that of most other gartersnakes, with an annual probability of survival of 0.78 (0.55–0.95) in 2008–2009 and 0.75 (0.49–0.93) in 2009–2010. Mean annual per capita recruitment rates were 0.73 (0.02–2.50) in 2008–2009 and 0.47 (0.02–1.42) in 2009–2010. From 2008 to 2010, the probability of an increase in abundance at this site was 0.873, with an estimated increase of 115 (−82 to 326) individuals. The estimated population growth rate in 2008–2009 was 1.52 (0.73–3.29) and in 2009–2010 was 1.21 (0.70–2.17). Although this population is probably stable or increasing in the short term, long-term studies of the status of the San Francisco gartersnake at other sites are required to estimate population trends and to elucidate mechanisms that promote the recovery of this charismatic member of our native herpetofauna.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1538-1545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Braiden M. Heaps ◽  
Jason L. Blevins ◽  
Yu-Fen Chiu ◽  
Joseph F. Konopka ◽  
Shaun P. Patel ◽  
...  

1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 633 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Green ◽  
Andrew Cockburn

The genus Acanthiza may be important in understanding the evolution of avian mating systems because while brown thornbills, Acanthiza pusilla, are thought to breed only in pairs, a recent phylogenetic analysis suggests that cooperative breeding is the ancestral trait within this genus. We provide a detailed account of the breeding biology of the brown thornbill, confirm that they breed exclusively in pairs, and compare their population demography with what is known for other members of the Pardalotidae. We found that brown thornbills produced small clutches (3 eggs) with a two-day laying interval, had a long incubation period (declining from 19 to 16 days through the season), and had a long breeding season (4.0 months) that allowed females to occasionally raise two successful broods. Brown thornbills, in our study, produced an average of 1.57 fledglings per pair and had relatively high annual survival rates (c. 63%). We found no evidence to suggest that the evolution of pair-breeding within the Pardalotidae is associated with a reduction in annual survival rates, a short breeding season with reduced productivity, or high levels of predation post-fledging. Since there also appear to be no ecological correlates with mating system in the Pardalotidae we suggest that examination of reproductive conflict between parents and young may shed light on the evolution of pairbreeding in this family.


Zygote ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iván I. Valdebenito ◽  
Patricia C. Gallegos ◽  
Brian R. Effer

SummaryThe quality of fish gametes, both male and female, are determined by several factors (age, management, feeding, chemical and physical factors, water quality, etc.) that have an impact on the survivability of embryos, larvae and/or fry in the short or long term. One of the most important factors is gamete ageing, especially for those species that are unable to spawn naturally in hatcheries. The chemical and physical factors in hatcheries and the nutrition that they provide can significantly alter harvest quality, especially from females; as a rule, males are more tolerant of stress conditions produced by inadequate feeding, management and/or poor water conditions. The stress produced on broodstock by inadequate conditions in hatcheries can produce adverse effects on gamete quality, survival rates, and the embryonic eggs after hatching.


1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 2696-2699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Nelson ◽  
L. David Mech

The survival of 159 yearling and adult deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was monitored by telemetry during 282 spring and 219 fall individual migrations to winter deeryards in northeastern Minnesota. A disproportionate number of deer were killed by wolves (Canis lupus) during fall migration relative to the short time they spent migrating, but not during spring migration. Predation was also significantly greater for male and female yearlings and adult females outside deeryards during winter. Survival of 79 yearlings dispersing from natal ranges was high (1.00). It appears that changing climatic conditions combined with unfamiliar terrain and undetermined factors predispose migratory deer to wolf predation during fall. These findings support an earlier hypothesis that winter yarding is an antipredator strategy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (14) ◽  
pp. 7916-7928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Boano ◽  
Irene Pellegrino ◽  
Mauro Ferri ◽  
Marco Cucco ◽  
Fausto Minelli ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1723) ◽  
pp. 3355-3363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Turbill ◽  
Claudia Bieber ◽  
Thomas Ruf

Survival probability is predicted to underlie the evolution of life histories along a slow–fast continuum. Hibernation allows a diverse range of small mammals to exhibit seasonal dormancy, which might increase survival and consequently be associated with relatively slow life histories. We used phylogenetically informed GLS models to test for an effect of hibernation on seasonal and annual survival, and on key attributes of life histories among mammals. Monthly survival was in most cases higher during hibernation compared with the active season, probably because inactivity minimizes predation. Hibernators also have approximately 15 per cent higher annual survival than similar sized non-hibernating species. As predicted, we found an effect of hibernation on the relationships between life history attributes and body mass: small hibernating mammals generally have longer maximum life spans (50% greater for a 50 g species), reproduce at slower rates, mature at older ages and have longer generation times compared with similar-sized non-hibernators. In accordance with evolutionary theories, however, hibernating species do not have longer life spans than non-hibernators with similar survival rates, nor do they have lower reproductive rates than non-hibernators with similar maximum life spans. Thus, our combined results suggest that (i) hibernation is associated with high rates of overwinter and annual survival, and (ii) an increase in survival in hibernating species is linked with the coevolution of traits indicative of relatively slow life histories.


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