Easily the most common of America's large wildlife species, white-tailed deer are often referred to as "overabundant." But when does a species cross the threshold from common to overpopulated? This question has been the focus of debate in recent years among hunters, animal rights activists, and biologists. William McShea and his colleagues explore every aspect of the issue. Are there really too many deer? Do efforts to control deer populations really work? What broader lessons can we learn from efforts to understand deer population dynamics? Through 23 chapters, the authors dismiss widely held lore and provide information on this perplexing problem.
Easily the most common of America's large wildlife species, white-tailed deer are often referred to as "overabundant." But when does a species cross the threshold from common to overpopulated? This question has been the focus of debate in recent years among hunters, animal rights activists, and biologists. William McShea and his colleagues explore every aspect of the issue. Are there really too many deer? Do efforts to control deer populations really work? What broader lessons can we learn from efforts to understand deer population dynamics? Through 23 chapters, the authors dismiss widely held lore and provide information on this perplexing problem.
Chapter 1 1. Introduction: Deer Management and the Concept of Overabundance Part 2 I. Philosophical Perspectives on Managing Deer Chapter 3 2. Recounting Whitetails Past Chapter 4 3. Historical Changes in the Abundance and Distribution of Deer in Virginia Chapter 5 4. The Science of Deer Management: An Animal Welfare Perspective Chapter 6 5. The Challenge of Conserving Large Mammals, with an Emphasis on Deer Part 7 II. Population Effects of HIgh-Density Deer Herds Chapter 8 6. Irruptive Behavior in Ungulates Chapter 9 7. Genetic Variation as a Predictor of Social Structure: Genetic Approaches for Studying Free-Ranging White-Tailed Deer Chapter 10 8. Density Dependence in Deer Populations Chapter 11 9. Density Effects on Deer Sociobiology Chapter 12 10. Profiles of Deer under Different management and Habitat Conditions in Pennsylvania Chapter 13 11. Health Characteristics and White-Tailed Deer Population Density in the Southeastern United States Chapter 14 12. Reconsidering Paradigms of Overpopulation in Ungulates: White-Tailed Deer at Saratoga National Historical Park Part 15 III. Ecosystems and High-Density Deer Herds Chapter 16 13. Rethinking the Role of Deer in Forest Ecosystem Dynamics Chapter 17 14. Vertebrate Abundance and the Epidemiology of Zoonotic Diseases Chapter 18 15. Influence of Deer on the Structure and Composition of Oak Forests in Central Massachusetts Chapter 19 16. Deer and Ecosystem Management Chapter 20 17. Deer Populations and the Widespread Failure of Hemlock Regeneration in Northern Forests Chapter 21 18. Herbivores and the Ecology of Forest Understory Birds Chapter 22 19. Influence of Deer and Other Factors on an Old-Field Plant Community: An Eight-Year Exclosure Study Chapter 23 20. Role of Refuges in the Dynamics of Outlying Deer Populations: Two Examples from the Agricultural Midwest Chapter 24 21. Bottomland Forest Composition and Seedling Diversity: Simulating Succession and Browsing by Overabundant Deer Chapter 25 22. A Spatially Explicit Modeling Environment for Evaluating Deer Management Strategies Chapter 26 Epilogue: Carrying Capacity and the Overabundance of Deer: A Framework for Management
William J. McShea and John H. Rappole are conservation biologists with the Smithsonian's National Zoo. H. Brian Underwood is director of park studies for the U.S. Geological Survey.
It is excellent to find the conclusions of researchers with disparate views and backgrounds aired in one volume. Biodiversity and Conservation We recommend this book to anyone interested in deer populations and their effects on ecosystemsssss Forest Science Everyone interested in the ecology and management of large herbivores should have a copy of this book. Ecology We recommend this book to anyone interested in deer populations and their effects on ecosystems Forest Science
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