Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/14262
Title: Effects of Selective Harvest on Antler Size in White-Tailed Deer: A Modeling Approach
Contributor(s): Webb, Stephen L (author); Demarais, Stephen (author); Strickland, Bronson K (author); DeYoung, Randy W (author); Kinghorn, Brian  (author); Gee, Kenneth L (author)
Publication Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.236
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/14262
Abstract: Selective harvesting in wild deer ('Odocoileus spp'.) populations is a common practice that may influence antler size. However, in free-ranging populations, response due to selection is unknown or difficult to quantify because antlers are influenced by nutrition and population demographics. We used quantitative genetic models to predict how white-tailed deer ('O. virginianus') antlers would respond to selection and what variables (i.e. population size, age structure, mating ratio, and heritability) most affected antler size. We validated our quantitative genetics program by comparing model results with a population of deer used for controlled breeding experiments; modeled antler points (AP) and score increased (2.2-4.3 AP and 48.5- 97.7 cm, respectively) after 8 years of selection, similar to observed increases in AP (3.2) and score (92.3 cm) from the controlled population. In modeled free-ranging populations, mating ratio, age structure, and heritability were more important in influencing antler size than size of the population. However, response to selection in free-ranging populations was lower (0.1-0.9 AP) than controlled breeding populations even after 20 years of selection. These results show that selective harvesting of free-ranging white-tailed deer may be inefficient to change population-level genetic characteristics related to antler size. Response of antlers in free ranging deer will be less than controlled populations, and possibly modeled free-ranging simulations, because individual reproductive success of males is lower, breeding is done by a large group of males, and reproductive and survival rates are lower. These factors, and others, reduce the amount of improvement that can be made to antlers due to selection. Therefore, selective harvesting in free-ranging populations should be justified for managing population demographics and dynamics, but not for changing the genetic characteristics of populations.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Journal of Wildlife Management, 76(1), p. 48-56
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Place of Publication: United States of America
ISSN: 1937-2817
0022-541X
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 050211 Wildlife and Habitat Management
060411 Population, Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 300307 Environmental studies in animal production
310599 Genetics not elsewhere classified
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 830303 Deer
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 100403 Deer
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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