Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Twenty-year Home-range Dynamics
of a White-tailed Deer Matriline
Michael E. Nelson and L. David Mech
Abstract: We examined the seasonal migration and home-range dynamics
of a multigeneration white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) matriline
comprising six females from four generations spanning a 20-year period in northeastern
Minnesota. All, from the matriarch to her great-granddaughter, migrated to the
same summer and winter ranges, the longest individual record being 14.5 years.
Three maternal females concurrently occupied exclusive fawning sites within
their ancestral matriarch's summer range, while two nonmaternal females explored
new areas and ranged near their mothers. One great-granddaughter expanded her
summer range 1 km beyond the matriarch's summer range while essentially vacating
half of her ancestors' range and becoming nonmigratory the last 4 years of her
life. These data indicate that individual movements of matriline members can
potentially expand their ranges beyond the areas occupied by their ancestors
through a slow process of small incremental changes. This suggests that the
rapid extension of deer range in eastern North America resulted from natal dispersal
by yearling deer rather than from the type of home-range expansion reported
here.
This resource is based on the following source (Northern Prairie Publication
1075):
Nelson, Michael E., and L. David Mech. 1999. Twenty-year home-range
dynamics of a white-tailed deer matriline. Canadian Journal of Zoology
77:1128-1135.
This resource should be cited as:
Nelson, Michael E., and L. David Mech. 1999. Twenty-year home-range
dynamics of a white-tailed deer matriline. Canadian Journal of Zoology
77:1128-1135. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Online. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/mammals/deermat/index.htm
(Version 31MAY2000).
Table of Contents
Figures
- Fig. 1 -- Genetic relationships, ages
and years of first capture and end of radio-tracking interval for a 20-year
white-tailed deer matriline.
- Fig. 2 -- Locations of M112 during March-November
1977 and D106 during April-June 1976.
- Fig. 3 -- Locations of M112 and D106
during April-November 1979.
- Fig. 4 -- Locations of D106, G6381, and
GG6974 during (A) April-May; and (B) June-August 1988.
- Fig. 5 -- Locations of G6996 and GG7000
in April-August 1988.
- Fig. 6 -- Locations of G6996 and GG7000
in April-October 1990.
Michael E. Nelson1 and L. David Mech2.
Biological Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife
Research Center, 8711 - 37th St. SE, Jamestown, ND 58401-7317, U.S.A.
1 Author to whom correspondence should be sent at the following
address: Kawishiwi Field Lab, SR 1, Box 7200, Ely, MN 55731, U.S.A.
2 Mailing address: North Central Forest Experiment Station, 1992
Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A.
Downloading Instructions
-- Instructions on downloading and extracting files from this site.
deermat.zip
(178K) -- Twenty-year Home-range Dynamics of a White-tailed Deer Matriline
Installation: Extract all files and open
index.htm in a web browser.
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey