Factors Associated with Highway Mortality of White-Tailed Deer

Puglisi, Michael J.; Lindzey, James S.; Bellis, Edward D.

doi:10.2307/3800048

Cited by 80 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…This mortality is equivalent to about 6% of the estimated deer population, and is a 28% increment on top of the reported hunt (on average, hunters take 20% of the Nova Scotia herd during the fall hunt; There was a bimodal pattern of peak mortality of multi-year individuals (of both sexes) during June-July and October-November ( Figure 1a). Other authors have reported a fall peak of deer road-kill, and have attributed this to breeding activities (Puglisi et al 1974;Case 1978). During the rut, bucks move about in search of receptive females, and does are also relatively vagile during that period (Banfield 1974).…”

Section: White-tailed Deermentioning

confidence: 96%

“…During the rut, bucks move about in search of receptive females, and does are also relatively vagile during that period (Banfield 1974). The fall hunting season may also increase road-kill rates (Puglisi et al 1974;Allen and McCullough 1976), although Kilgo et al (1998) found that deer in Florida generally avoid roads and other open areas when under hunting pressure. The increase of deer road-kill in June-July could be related to such factors as increased rural traffic associated with tourists and cottagers, the availability of high-quality forage and residual de-icing salt along verges, harassment by biting flies and partial refuge from them in open areas, and increased mobility of does with fawns during this time.…”

Section: White-tailed Deermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The increase of deer road-kill in June-July could be related to such factors as increased rural traffic associated with tourists and cottagers, the availability of high-quality forage and residual de-icing salt along verges, harassment by biting flies and partial refuge from them in open areas, and increased mobility of does with fawns during this time. Puglisi et al (1974) commented on the attractiveness of early-greening road verges to deer in the springtime. We observed a particularly large peak of road-kill in the spring of 2001 following an extremely harsh winter, during which about half of the provincial herd starved to death because of deep snow cover (NSDNR 2007*).…”

Section: White-tailed Deermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Road-kill of Mammals in Nova Scotia

Fudge

Freedman

Crowell³

et al. 2007

Can Field Nat

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We examined road mortality of wild mammals in Nova Scotia using data from (a) five years of province-wide data on wildlife collisions involving larger mammals, and (b) 20 months of observations of smaller mammals along a 160-km route near Halifax. An average of 2079 White-tailed Deer was reported killed annually on highways during 1999 through 2003, along with 14 Moose and 33 Black Bear. Female White-tailed Deer were more likely to be road-killed than males (by a factor of 1.8), yearlings more so than older animals, and there were peaks of mortality in the late spring and late autumn. The road-kill of smaller mammals was highest in the summer and least in the winter, and the most frequent mortalities were of Raccoon (28% of observations), Porcupine (27%), Skunk (17%), Snowshoe Hare (6%), Coyote (4%), and Groundhog (3%). The standardized kill-rate (number/100 km) was highest on a 100-series highway compared to trunk highways or urban streets, but the rate standardized to vehicle density was highest on trunk highways.

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Section: White-tailed Deermentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: White-tailed Deermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: White-tailed Deermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Road-kill of Mammals in Nova Scotia

Fudge

Freedman

Crowell³

et al. 2007

Can Field Nat

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“…White-tailed deer DVCs peak in October and November during the breeding season, with a secondary peak in May and June as yearling deer disperse from their birth ranges (Allen and McCullough, 1976 (Michigan data); Decker et al, 1990 (New York data); Puglisi et al, 1974 (Pennsylvania data); HSIS, 1995 (data for five states combined)). Mule deer DVCs are most frequent during the spring and fall migrations (Messmer et al, 2000).…”

Section: Estimated a Northmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methods to Reduce Traffic Crashes Involving Deer: What Works and What Does Not

Hedlund¹,

Curtis

et al. 2004

Traffic Injury Prevention

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More than 1.5 million traffic crashes involving deer are estimated to occur each year in the United States. These crashes produce at least $1.1 billion in vehicle damage and about 150 fatalities annually. Deer-related crashes are increasing as both deer populations and vehicular travel increase.Many methods have been used in attempts to reduce deer crashes, often with little scientific foundation and limited evaluation. This paper summarizes the methods and reviews the evidence of their effectiveness and the situations in which each may be useful. The only widely accepted method with solid evidence of effectiveness is well-designed and maintained fencing, combined with underpasses or overpasses as appropriate. Herd reduction is controversial but can be effective. Deer whistles appear useless. Roadside reflectors appear to have little long-term effect, although additional well-designed evaluations are needed before firm conclusions can be drawn. Both temporary passive signs and active signs appear promising in specific situations, but considerable research is required to evaluate long-term driver response and to improve and test deer detection technology for active signs. Other methods using advanced technology require substantial additional research and evaluation.

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“…Despite a long history of studies of road mortality on white-tailed deer (e.g. Bellis and Graves 1971;Puglisi et al 1974;Romin and Bissonette 1996;Finder et al 1999;Hubbard et al 2000;Grovenburg et al 2008;McShea et al 2008), no study has tested for an effect of roads on deer abundance. A difficulty in testing for such an effect is that road density may be negatively correlated with deer habitat variables such as forest amount and forest edge amount, making it difficult to isolate the effects of roads on deer abundance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of paved road density on abundance of white-tailed deer

2012

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Context. Although~3% of white-tailed deer are killed on roads each year, no previous study has tested for an effect of roads on deer abundance. This is difficult to do because road density is generally negatively correlated with deer habitat availability.Aims. Our goal was to determine whether roads affect deer abundance.Methods. First, we used an existing dataset from Pennsylvania, USA, to determine a range of paved road densities representing a significant range in deer per capita mortality. We then conducted a field study in eastern Ontario, Canada, with sample sites for relative deer abundance selected such that (1) road density in the surrounding landscapes varied over this same range, and (2) there were low correlations across landscapes between road density and deer habitat availability. The latter allowed us to isolate the effects of roads from the effects of habitat on deer abundance. We indexed relative deer abundance using a combination of pellet samples and track counts.Key results. Unexpectedly, we observed a positive relationship between relative deer abundance and paved road density. Conclusions. We speculate that this positive relationship is due to (1) reduced deer predation and/or perceived predation risk and/or hunting pressure in landscapes with higher road density and/or (2) provision of a resource or service by roads, the benefits of which outweigh the road mortality.Implications. We found no evidence that road mortality places deer populations at risk of decline, at least over the range of road density values in our study. Therefore we conclude that road mortality is not a conservation concern for white-tailed deer in ecological contexts similar to our study areas.

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Factors Associated with Highway Mortality of White-Tailed Deer

Cited by 80 publications

References 4 publications

Road-kill of Mammals in Nova Scotia

Road-kill of Mammals in Nova Scotia

Methods to Reduce Traffic Crashes Involving Deer: What Works and What Does Not

Effect of paved road density on abundance of white-tailed deer

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