Additional Siphonaptera Records From Small Mammals in the Central Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Fleas were collected from mammals during the period 1990-1992 in two upper peninsula counties. Identified specimens were compared to existing distribution records for both parasite and host. Only those records which are newly documented for county, upper peninsula or Michigan are listed. We report one previously unknown flea species and five new host records for Michigan. One host record is new for the upper peninsula. In addition, seven new host/parasite combinations are recorded for two central upper peninsula counties

Siphonaptera Records and Host Associations From the Central and Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Fleas were collected from birds and mammals over a five year period in four upper peninsula counties. Identified specimens were compared to published records of distribution for the parasite species and its host species, and only those records which are new county distributions for host or parasite are listed. Four new host records for Michigan, four new flea distribution records for the upper peninsula, and 26 new county records are listed

Effects of maternal nutrition, resource use and multi-predator risk on neonatal white-tailed deer survival.

Growth of ungulate populations is typically most sensitive to survival of neonates, which in turn is influenced by maternal nutritional condition and trade-offs in resource selection and avoidance of predators. We assessed whether resource use, multi-predator risk, maternal nutritional effects, hiding cover, or interactions among these variables best explained variation in daily survival of free-ranging neonatal white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during their post-partum period (14 May-31 Aug) in Michigan, USA. We used Cox proportional hazards mixed-effects models to assess survival related to covariates of resource use, composite predation risk of 4 mammalian predators, fawn body mass at birth, winter weather, and vegetation growth phenology. Predation, particularly from coyotes (Canis latrans), was the leading cause of mortality; however, an additive model of non-ideal resource use and maternal nutritional effects explained 71% of the variation in survival. This relationship suggested that dams selected areas where fawns had poor resources, while greater predation in these areas led to additive mortalities beyond those related to resource use alone. Also, maternal nutritional effects suggested that severe winters resulted in dams producing smaller fawns, which decreased their likelihood of survival. Fawn resource use appeared to reflect dam avoidance of lowland forests with poor forage and greater use by wolves (C. lupus), their primary predator. While this strategy led to greater fawn mortality, particularly by coyotes, it likely promoted the life-long reproductive success of dams because many reached late-age (>10 years old) and could have produced multiple generations of fawns. Studies often link resource selection and survival of ungulates, but our results suggested that multiple factors can mediate that relationship, including multi-predator risk. We emphasize the importance of identifying interactions among biological and environmental factors when assessing survival of ungulates

Scale Dependence of Female Ungulate Reproductive Success in Relation to Nutritional Condition, Resource Selection and Multi-Predator Avoidance.

Female ungulate reproductive success is dependent on the survival of their young, and affected by maternal resource selection, predator avoidance, and nutritional condition. However, potential hierarchical effects of these factors on reproductive success are largely unknown, especially in multi-predator landscapes. We expanded on previous research of neonatal white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) daily survival within home ranges to assess if resource use, integrated risk of 4 mammalian predators, maternal nutrition, winter severity, hiding cover, or interactions among these variables best explained landscape scale variation in daily or seasonal survival during the post-partum period. We hypothesized that reproductive success would be limited greater by predation risk at coarser spatiotemporal scales, but habitat use at finer scales. An additive model of daily non-ideal resource use and maternal nutrition explained the most (69%) variation in survival; though 65% of this variation was related to maternal nutrition. Strong support of maternal nutrition across spatiotemporal scales did not fully support our hypothesis, but suggested reproductive success was related to dam behaviors directed at increasing nutritional condition. These behaviors were especially important following severe winters, when dams produced smaller fawns with less probability of survival. To increase nutritional condition and decrease wolf (Canis lupus) predation risk, dams appeared to place fawns in isolated deciduous forest patches near roads. However, this resource selection represented non-ideal resources for fawns, which had greater predation risk that led to additive mortalities beyond those related to resources alone. Although the reproductive strategy of dams resulted in greater predation of fawns from alternative predators, it likely improved the life-long reproductive success of dams, as many were late-aged (>10 years old) and could have produced multiple litters of fawns. Our study emphasizes understanding the scale-dependent hierarchy of factors limiting reproductive success is essential to providing reliable knowledge for ungulate management

Generalized linear mixed-effect models assessing second order resource use of neonatal white-tailed deer (≤ 14 weeks of age; <i>n</i> = 129) during the post-partum period (14 May–31Aug), southcentral Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, 2009–2011.

<p>Models used radiolocations (1; <i>n</i> = 2713) and random points (0) as the binomial response variable and individual resources were used as a fixed effect with individual fawn and year as random effects on the intercept. Model accuracy was estimated using the area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).</p

Predictions used to assess daily or seasonal survival of neonate white-tailed deer (≤ 14 weeks of age) relative to resource use, predation risk, birth body mass, winter severity, and vegetation hiding cover at the landscape scale in the southcentral Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, 2009–2011.

<p>Predictions used to assess daily or seasonal survival of neonate white-tailed deer (≤ 14 weeks of age) relative to resource use, predation risk, birth body mass, winter severity, and vegetation hiding cover at the landscape scale in the southcentral Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, 2009–2011.</p

Resource metrics used to assess resource use of white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>) fawns, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, 2009–2011.

<p>Resource metrics used to assess resource use of white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>) fawns, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, 2009–2011.</p

Location (black polygon) of white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>) resource use and predation risk study, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, 2009–2011.

<p>Location (black polygon) of white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>) resource use and predation risk study, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, 2009–2011.</p