Winter habitat use by mule deer in the central interior of British Columbia

Abstract

We analyzed winter habitat use by 23 radio-collared mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) in the central interior of British Columbia, Canada, from February 1982 to March 1989. This research was essential to provide sound biological data for development of a selection silvicultural and planning system that would integrate timber harvesting with the habitat needs of mule deer. Habitat selection was analyzed by comparing deer use with habitat availability of various levels (categories) of the following variables: age, crown closure, species composition, slope, and aspect. Additionally, we compared the use of each category among snow classes. Regardless of snow depth class, use of old stands (> 140 years) by deer was greater than the availability of that age category. Also, the use of old stands was greater in moderate (26–40 cm) and deep (>40 cm) snow depth classes than in the low snow depth class. Areas of winter range dominated by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) were more often used than areas where other tree species were most common. In the deep snow class, use of both moderate and high crown closures categories exceeded their availability.

Late-Winter Habitat Use by Mule Deer, <em>Odocoileus hemionus</em>, in Central Interior British Columbia

“…This is in agreement with previous studies (Armleder et al 1994;Poole and Mowat 2005) that found that in late winter, Mule Deer seek late-successional coniferous stands with greater crown closure. This study also showed that, in 2006, a large number of Mule Deer tracks were located in Douglas-fir-leading stands, as it was found in west-central (D'Arcy and Stark 1998*) and south-central (Armleder et al 1994) interior regions rich in Douglas-fir stands. In this study, however, the distribution of Douglas-fir stands was patchy, and Mule Deer also used Lodgepole Pine-Hybrid White Spruce stands that provided animals with canopy cover.…”

LiDAR Remote Sensing of Forest Structure and GPS Telemetry Data Provide Insights on Winter Habitat Selection of European Roe Deer

“…Animals preferred higher canopy cover when it was cold compared to average temperatures or when snow heights of our reference weather station exceeded 60 cm. This result is consistent with previous studies on ungulates in general [41][42][43][44], and roe deer in particular [45,46]; these studies also observed a preference for higher canopy cover at low temperatures and in deep snow. The result confirms our expectations that roe deer use forests with high canopy cover as thermal shelter when temperatures are low.…”

Influence of variable retention harvests on forest ecosystems: Plant and mammal responses up to 8 years post-harvest

“…Habitat use by this species is particularly important during winter periods when this ungulate seems to require latesuccessional closed canopy forests to provide snow interception and forage from herbs, shrubs and litterfall of arboreal lichens and Douglas-fir (Dawson et al, 1990;Nyberg, 1990;Armleder et al, 1994). To date, investigation of relative habitat use by mule deer during summer and winter seasons in those sites harvested by various retention schemes has received little attention.…”