Spatial distribution and landscape associations of large‐antlered deer. Issue 8 (26th September 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cain, Rebecca L.; Snow, Nathan P.; Crawford, Joanne C.; Williams, David M.; Porter, William F.
• Is Part Of: Journal of wildlife management. Volume 83:Issue 8(2019)
• Page Start: 1762
• Page End: 1772
• Publication Date: 2019-09-26
• Subjects: harvest data -- landscape configuration -- large antlers -- Midwest -- Odocoileus virginianus -- record deer -- soil productivity -- white‐tailed deer; Wildlife management -- Periodicals; Zoology -- Periodicals; 333.954
• DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21763
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-541X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: For more than a century, the Boone and Crockett Club has kept records of harvest locations for 38 categories of North American big game, which includes measurement details and sizes of enduring characteristics (e.g., antlers, skulls, horns). All white‐tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) entered in the Club records (i.e., record deer) have large antlers because the measurements must meet or exceed a minimum size to qualify for entry. We used the records from the Club to test the hypothesis that the spatial distribution in the harvest of record deer was related to the number of antlered deer harvested, variations in land productivity, soil mineral content, and attributes of land cover for 9 states in the midwestern United States. We used a Bayesian theoretical framework to develop a spatial model that examined the influence of explanatory variables on the number of record deer harvested in each county. In our study area, 3, 658 record deer were harvested in 692 of the 856 counties (80.8%). More record deer were harvested in counties that had more high‐contrast edges, less contiguous land cover, and greater variation in soil productivity. These results provide information for managers and hunters to better understand the spatial distribution of record deer and factors that are correlated with their distribution. © 2019 The Wildlife Society. Abstract : Our results confirm that environmental factors known to confer habitat suitability on local geographic scales are also correlated with the distribution of record deer across large landscapes at the extent of continental regions. Specifically, these findings suggest that landscape configuration was associated with the spatial distribution of record deer across the Midwest during the study period.