Summary1. Accurately describing animal space use is vital to understanding how wildlife use habitat. Improvements in GPS technology continue to facilitate collection of telemetry data at high spatial and temporal resolutions. Application of the recently introduced dynamic Brownian bridge movement model (dBBMM) to such data is promising as the method explicitly incorporates the behavioural heterogeneity of a movement path into the estimated utilization distribution (UD). 2. Utilization distributions defining space use are normally estimated for time-scales ranging from weeks to months, obscuring much of the fine-scale information available from high-volume GPS data sets. By accounting for movement heterogeneity, the dBBMM provides a rigorous, behaviourally based estimate of space use between each set of relocations. Focusing on UDs generated between individual sets of locations allows us to quantify fine-scale circadian variation in habitat use. 3. We used the dBBMM to estimate UDs bounding individual time steps for three terrestrial species with different life histories to illustrate how the method can be used to identify fine-scale variations in habitat use. We also demonstrate how dBBMMs can be used to characterize circadian patterns of habitat selection and link fine-scale patterns of habitat use to behaviour. 4. We observed circadian patterns of habitat use that varied seasonally for a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and coyote (Canis latrans). We found seasonal patterns in selection by the white-tailed deer and were able to link use of conifer forests and agricultural fields to behavioural state of the coyote. Additionally, we were able to quantify the date in which a Rio Grande wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) initiated laying as well as when during the day, she was most likely to visit the nest site to deposit eggs. 5. The ability to quantify circadian patterns of habitat use may have important implications for research and management of wildlife. Additionally, the ability to link such patterns to behaviour may aid in the development of mechanistic models of habitat selection.

Camera surveys often involve placing bait in front of the camera to capture animals more frequently, which could introduce biases in parameter estimates. From September 2008 to March 2009, we monitored cameras placed at random, along game trails, and at feed stations to determine if camera placement influenced measures of population demographics in a herd of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). There was no time period in which cameras placed at feed stations provided sex ratio and recruitment estimates similar to those acquired from randomly placed cameras. Trail‐based camera surveys provided population estimates similar to those from random sites and may provide a feasible alternative to using baited camera stations. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.

The social and environmental pressures exerted on white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus in the southeastern United States are dynamic. Understanding factors that contribute to neonatal white-tailed deer mortality is vital to population management. To determine survival rates and causes of mortality, we captured and radio-monitored neonate white-tailed deer in the coastal plain of South Carolina. Using date of birth, mass, sex, age, and year as predictor variables, we created a candidate set of survival models to evaluate which factors influenced daily survival rates. We captured and monitored 210 fawns and recorded 68 total mortalities (32.3%). We recorded few mortalities in 2006 (n  =  5; 12.8%) and 2007 (n  =  5; 12.5%), but we observed a significant increase in mortality in 2008 (n  =  18; 37.5%), 2009 (n  =  28; 53.8%), and 2010 (n  =  12; 38.7%). Predation accounted for the majority of mortalities (n  =  29; 42.6%). We found that male fawns were more than twice as likely to survive as females, and older fawns were more likely to succumb to predation than younger fawns. Overall survival in our study was higher than estimates recently reported in the southeastern United States. Recent increases in coyote predation have been cause for concern in some parts of the Southeast, but our results indicate that although it appeared coyote predation increased over the course of our study, predation did not reach levels that have been reported elsewhere, possibly due to predator-control activities on our study site. Close monitoring of the deer population at Brosnan Forest allowed managers to adequately adjust harvest prescriptions to maintain deer populations at the desired level despite an apparent decline in fawn survival.