Buford_Dawg
Senior Member
Coyotes and Deer: Research at the UGA Deer Lab - Winter 2012
"In the first UGA Deer Lab study on coyotes, Josh Schrecen-gost, under the direction of Dr. Miller, studied home range and food habits of coyotes on the 198,000─acre Savannah River Site, located in South Carolina just across the Savan-nah River from Georgia. Josh found that at low deer densi-ty (13 deer/square mile), coyote annual home ranges aver-aged approximately 8,000 acres, although there was a very high degree of variability among individuals. Some coyotes maintained home ranges of only 400-500 acres, while the home range of others were >10,000 acres. Josh also re-ported that on an annual basis, “deer remains were found in 22% of the coyote scats sampled and that coyotes would preferentially feed on fawns during May and June despite the large effort required to find fawns at low deer densi-ties."
In 2006, another of Dr. Miller’s graduate students, Cory VanGilder, studied coyote and bobcat food habits and the effects of intensive predator removal on deer recruitment on a 2,000─acre hunting property in northeastern Alabama, not far from the Georgia state line. Cory monitored fawn recruitment rates using hunter observations as well as camera surveys before and after an intensive coyote and bobcat removal. Cory’s data indicated that coyotes were much more important fawn predators than were bobcats. More importantly, prior to the removal of 22 coyotes and 10 bobcats from the property, fawn to doe ratios averaged about 0.5 fawns per doe during the late fall. Following the removal, recruitment rates jumped to an average of 1.3 fawns per doe.
01020304050MayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJuneJuly% of Scats containing WTDFawnAdult
In 2007, Brent Howze, under the direction of Dr. Warren, studied the effect of coyote and bobcat predation on deer recruitment on a 29,000─acre property in south-western Georgia. Brent confirmed Josh’s earlier findings that coyotes were much more important predators of fawns, than bobcats. In his study, coyotes and bobcats were removed from a 10,000-acre section of the proper-ty. Fall fawn recruitment rates on the removal area av-eraged about 1.0 fawns per doe, but on the area that was not trapped the recruitment rate was only 0.4 fawns per doe. These results are surprisingly similar to what Cory’s study in Alabama reported.
Currently, there are 5 UGA Deer Lab graduate students working on coyote-related research projects. Graduate students, Michael Cherry and Melinda Nelson continue to study the impacts of coyotes on white-tailed deer on Ichauway Plantation in southwestern Georgia. Last year, they captured and radio-collared 9 does and used radio-telemetry data to locate each doe’s fawns soon after birth. They recently completed collecting survival and predation data for 15 of the fawns, which they moni-tored via telemetry for up to 6 months of age. In addi-tion, they captured 17 coyotes, fitting them with GPS collars. Beginning his month, with funding from Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, they will capture 20 does and fit them with GPS collars. Although they will continue to monitor fawn survival, their primary focus will be to evaluate the indirect effect of coyotes on deer foraging behavior, habitat use, and herd health. Their research will help answer questions such as, “Do certain habitat features of fawning sites provide newborn fawns a degree of protection from coyote predation? And “Do deer distribute themselves across a property based on the distribution and number of coyotes?”
From the official newsletter of the University of Georgia Deer Management Research Group.
"In the first UGA Deer Lab study on coyotes, Josh Schrecen-gost, under the direction of Dr. Miller, studied home range and food habits of coyotes on the 198,000─acre Savannah River Site, located in South Carolina just across the Savan-nah River from Georgia. Josh found that at low deer densi-ty (13 deer/square mile), coyote annual home ranges aver-aged approximately 8,000 acres, although there was a very high degree of variability among individuals. Some coyotes maintained home ranges of only 400-500 acres, while the home range of others were >10,000 acres. Josh also re-ported that on an annual basis, “deer remains were found in 22% of the coyote scats sampled and that coyotes would preferentially feed on fawns during May and June despite the large effort required to find fawns at low deer densi-ties."
In 2006, another of Dr. Miller’s graduate students, Cory VanGilder, studied coyote and bobcat food habits and the effects of intensive predator removal on deer recruitment on a 2,000─acre hunting property in northeastern Alabama, not far from the Georgia state line. Cory monitored fawn recruitment rates using hunter observations as well as camera surveys before and after an intensive coyote and bobcat removal. Cory’s data indicated that coyotes were much more important fawn predators than were bobcats. More importantly, prior to the removal of 22 coyotes and 10 bobcats from the property, fawn to doe ratios averaged about 0.5 fawns per doe during the late fall. Following the removal, recruitment rates jumped to an average of 1.3 fawns per doe.
01020304050MayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJuneJuly% of Scats containing WTDFawnAdult
In 2007, Brent Howze, under the direction of Dr. Warren, studied the effect of coyote and bobcat predation on deer recruitment on a 29,000─acre property in south-western Georgia. Brent confirmed Josh’s earlier findings that coyotes were much more important predators of fawns, than bobcats. In his study, coyotes and bobcats were removed from a 10,000-acre section of the proper-ty. Fall fawn recruitment rates on the removal area av-eraged about 1.0 fawns per doe, but on the area that was not trapped the recruitment rate was only 0.4 fawns per doe. These results are surprisingly similar to what Cory’s study in Alabama reported.
Currently, there are 5 UGA Deer Lab graduate students working on coyote-related research projects. Graduate students, Michael Cherry and Melinda Nelson continue to study the impacts of coyotes on white-tailed deer on Ichauway Plantation in southwestern Georgia. Last year, they captured and radio-collared 9 does and used radio-telemetry data to locate each doe’s fawns soon after birth. They recently completed collecting survival and predation data for 15 of the fawns, which they moni-tored via telemetry for up to 6 months of age. In addi-tion, they captured 17 coyotes, fitting them with GPS collars. Beginning his month, with funding from Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, they will capture 20 does and fit them with GPS collars. Although they will continue to monitor fawn survival, their primary focus will be to evaluate the indirect effect of coyotes on deer foraging behavior, habitat use, and herd health. Their research will help answer questions such as, “Do certain habitat features of fawning sites provide newborn fawns a degree of protection from coyote predation? And “Do deer distribute themselves across a property based on the distribution and number of coyotes?”
From the official newsletter of the University of Georgia Deer Management Research Group.
