Description and evaluation of the seasonal ranging and movement behavior of white-tailed deer, 1979

To describe the location, configuration, and movements within and between seasonal home ranges and to account for the development, maintenance, and variability of seasonal ranging and movement patterns of a representative sample of white-tailed deer

Observability and Behavior of White-tailed Deer Along Forest Roads

To identify and evaluate the impact of population densities, deer behavior, roadside vegetative conditions, timber management activities, and hunting practices on the observability of white-tailed deer along forest roads

Development of a forest land management plan for a parcel of private land in the central Adirondacks

To research selected aspects of deer resource dynamics that have been identified as key components in the redefinition and/or implementation of deer management strategic plans and programs in northern New York

Seasonal Movements and Ranges of White-tailed Deer in the Adirondacks

To describe the location, configuration, and movements within and between seasonal home ranges and to account for the development, maintenance, and variability of seasonal ranging and movement patterns of a representative sample of white-tailed deer

Multiple behavioural, morphological and cognitive developmental changes arise from a single alteration to early life spatial environment, resulting in fitness consequences for released pheasants

This is the final version of the article. Available from the Royal Society via the DOI in this record.Subtle variations in early rearing environment influence morphological, cognitive and behavioural processes that together impact on adult fitness. We manipulated habitat complexity experienced by young pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in their first seven weeks, adding a third accessible dimension by placing elevated perches in their rearing pens mimicking natural variation in habitat complexity. This simple manipulation provoked an interrelated suite of morphological, cognitive and behavioural changes, culminating in decreased wild mortality of birds from complex habitats compared with controls. Three mechanisms contribute to this: Pheasants reared with perches had a morphology which could enable them to fly to the higher branches and cope with prolonged roosting. They had a higher propensity to roost off the ground at night in the wild. More generally, these birds had more accurate spatial memory. Consequently, birds were at a reduced risk of terrestrial predation. The fitness consequences of variation in early rearing on behavioural development are rarely studied in the wild but we show that this is necessary because the effects can be broad ranging and not simple, depending on a complex interplay of behavioural, cognitive and morphological elements, even when effects that the treatments provoke are relatively short term and plastic.M.A.W. was jointly funded by the University of Exeter and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. J.R.M. was funded by an ERC Consolidator Award (616474)

Predation of artificial nests in UK farmland by magpies (Pica pica): interacting environmental, temporal, and social factors influence a nest's risk

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The recent decline in farmland songbirds in the UK has coincided with increases in the populations of many nest predators. However, studies which have removed nest predators and monitored the response of prey populations have found mixed results. One explanation for this ambiguity is that, within species, predators differ in how likely they are to predate nests and only the removal of particularly predatory individuals will improve the breeding success of prey populations. Predators could differ in the extent to which they take nests due to variation in the local environment and/or variation within the predator population, e.g. differences in breeding status. Additional to these broad factors, certain individuals may specialise on particular prey. We placed 460 artificial nests in a systematically balanced design in UK farmland to analyse these sources of variation in predation. Magpies (Pica pica) were the most common predators of our artificial nests and the vulnerability of our nests to magpie predation varied according to magpie breeding status (predation was higher inside breeding magpies’ territories), but this effect varied temporally. More nests were predated inside of magpie territories late in the season, when magpies had dependent fledglings. More specifically, some nest locations were especially vulnerable independent of both magpie breeding status and time in breeding season. These nests may have been disproportionately predated by specific, particularly predatory, territorial magpies. Habitat management and/or predator removal may benefit songbird populations if targeted towards reducing the effect of particular individuals identified as more likely to predate songbird nests.SongBird Surviva

An Evaluation of Fee Hunting as a Technique to Capitalize on the Value of Deer in Northern New York

To research selected aspects of deer resource dynamics that have been identified as key components in the redefinition and/or implementation of deer management strategic plans and programs in northern New York

Human Access Patterns in Northern New York

To research selected aspects of deer resource dynamics that have been identified as key components in the redefinition and/or implementation of deer management strategic plans and programs in northern New York

An evaluation of the cost effectiveness of several methods of deer harvest on private land in the Adirondacks

To research selected aspects of deer resource dynamics that have been identified as key components in the redefinition and/or implementation of deer management strategic plans and programs in northern New York

Coordination of research design activities with contract projects: W-124-R and W-146-R

To research selected aspects of deer resource dynamics that have been identified as key components in the redefinition and/or implementation of deer management strategic plans and programs in northern New York