Survival, Cause-specific Mortality, and Natality of White-tailed Deer in Southeast Kentucky

The counties of southeastern Kentucky have the lowest density of white-tailed deer in the state. Recent observations based on hunter harvest and reports suggest a recent (past decade) population decline of the species. We propose to investigate select basic population parameters of white-tailed deer in the southeastern part of the state to attempt to elucidate what factors may be responsible for low deer numbers. To accomplish our goals, we will outfit pregnant adult doe whitetails with VHF (very high frequency) collars and VITs (vaginal implant transmitters) to examine survival and cause-specific mortality, and natality (number of fawns born per doe) in forested landscapes. Once the VITs are expelled we will capture and collar deer fawns to examine survival and recruitment (number of fawns reaching 1 year of age). The field data and research will be conducted by two master's level graduate students at the University of Kentucky; one student will conduct research on the adult does and one will focus on fawns. Collared deer will be monitored for at least two years for data collection.