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LOGGING DEBRIS PROTECTS SUGAR MAPLE (Acer saccharum) SEEDLINGS FROM WHITE-TAILED DEER (Odocoileus virginianus) HERBIVORY IN WOLF-OCCUPIED FOREST

Sullivan, Ari Erin
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6966-9712
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1432714208

Abstract Details

2015, Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, Biological Sciences.
White-tailed deer are a species of great economic and ecological concern. Foresters sometimes leave logging debris known as slash on the forest floor with the intent to protect seedlings from deer herbivory and promote forest regeneration. I examined the effects of slash on rates of deer browsing on sugar maple seedlings in a forest of northern Wisconsin and measured deer foraging behavior using giving-up density and vigilance rates by employing trail cameras. Rates of browsed stems were almost twice as high in the open as within and adjacent to slash. These findings underscore the usefulness of slash for mitigating the effects of deer on tree seedlings.Deer vigilance did not vary by night and day but photos were rarely taken during dawn and dusk. These results may suggest that rather than using reactive vigilance behavior, deer are using proactive antipredator behavior and avoiding the study site at high-risk times.
Thomas Rooney, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Jeffrey Peters, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
John Stireman III, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
52 p.
Animals; Biology; Ecology; Forestry
deer; risk-sensitive; foraging; behavior; behavioral ecology; trophic cascade; ecology of fear; forestry; terrain fear factor; white-tailed deer; wolf

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sullivan, A. E. (2015). LOGGING DEBRIS PROTECTS SUGAR MAPLE (Acer saccharum) SEEDLINGS FROM WHITE-TAILED DEER (Odocoileus virginianus) HERBIVORY IN WOLF-OCCUPIED FOREST [Master's thesis, Wright State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1432714208

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sullivan, Ari. LOGGING DEBRIS PROTECTS SUGAR MAPLE (Acer saccharum) SEEDLINGS FROM WHITE-TAILED DEER (Odocoileus virginianus) HERBIVORY IN WOLF-OCCUPIED FOREST . 2015. Wright State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1432714208.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sullivan, Ari. "LOGGING DEBRIS PROTECTS SUGAR MAPLE (Acer saccharum) SEEDLINGS FROM WHITE-TAILED DEER (Odocoileus virginianus) HERBIVORY IN WOLF-OCCUPIED FOREST ." Master's thesis, Wright State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1432714208

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.