Regeneration of White Cedar in Northern Swamps

Regeneration of white cedar in six northern Minnesota swamps by layering, suckering, and seeding was found where surface and subsurface soils were circum-neutral (median pH 7.1 for surface soils and 7.0 for subsurface soils) but not on more acid soils. Regeneration was best where the peat soil was coarsely decomposed and little compacted, and where the water table was high with some flow of ground water through the swamp. Sphagnum moss grew on all regeneration sites but was also found on more acid, unsuitable sites. No single associated groundcover plant appeared to be a specifically reliable indicator species for regeneration sites, but the most usual were tamarack (Larix laricina), Labrador tea (Ledum green-landicum), and creeping snowberry (Gaultheria procumbens. Suggestions are given for restoring cedar swamps for use as deer yards

Femur-Marrow Fat of White-Tailed Deer Fawns Killed by Wolves

I present marrow fat (MF) data from a large sample of white-tailed deer fawns killed by wolves and a sample of fawns that died by accident in a single area, and I use these data to explore the extent that poor nutritional condition may have predisposed fawns to wolf predation. Percent MF of 110 5–10-month-old white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns killed by wolves (Canis lupus) from November through April 1984–2002 in northeastern Minnesota, USA, was lower than MF for 23 fawns killed by accidents in the same area and period. The MF of both male and female wolf-killed fawns decreased over winter. The MF of male fawns decreased as a snow-depth index increased, but MF of females showed little relationship to the snow-depth index and was higher than that of males. Poor nutritional condition is one factor that predisposes deer fawns to wolf predation during winter and spring. This information expands our knowledge of wolf–prey relations by documenting that, even with younger prey animals that might be thought vulnerable because of youth alone, poor nutritional condition also is an important factor predisposing them to wolf predation