Episode 081 - Lunar Table Fables - Does the Moon Affect Buck Activiy?
Deer University
Natasha Neary, Luke Resop, Steve Demarais, and Bronson Strickland delve into the relationships between moon phases, positions, and their potential effects on buck movement and bedding behavior. They review their research findings from a complex and exhaustive analysis of GPS-collared bucks to determine if moon phase and/or position has any relationship with buck movement behaviors. They emphasize the importance of accounting for individual buck personalities and behaviors during the rut and highlight the challenges in drawing definitive conclusions. The discussion also includes insights...
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Episode 080 - Buck Antler Size and Landscape Context
Deer University
In this third episode with Dr. Mark Turner, we discuss Mark's research exploring the factors that contribute to the variation in population-level buck antler size. He explains that deer tend to be larger in areas further north due to heat retention and dissipation. He also highlights the importance of landscape characteristics, such as row crop agriculture, in influencing deer size. Additionally, he emphasizes the significance of managing forage availability on individual properties, including improving early successional plant communities and implementing holistic food plotting approaches....
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Episode 079 - Estimating nutrient requirements for deer
Deer University
In this episode, Dr. Mark Turner discusses his research on the nutrient requirements of deer and the availability of native plants to fulfill those requirements. He sampled common deer forages throughout the Eastern US and found that only 44% of the forages sampled met the minimum crude protein requirement, and only 19% met the minimum phosphorus requirement. This highlights the importance of providing a diverse range of forage options for deer. Mark also emphasizes the need to consider both the amount and quality of forage when estimating nutritional carrying capacity. He suggests that...
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Episode 078 – Predicting Antler Size from Doe Body Weight
Deer University
In this conversation, Bronson, Steve, and Mark Turner discuss the relationship between doe body weight and buck antler size. Mark's research at the University of Tennessee aimed to evaluate how deer body and antler size varied across the eastern US and what habitat characteristics were associated with bigger deer. The results showed a consistent relationship between doe body weight and buck antler size, with an 8.5-inch increase in antler size for every 10-pound increase in doe body mass. This relationship provides a predictive equation that can help property managers and hunters assess and...
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Episode 077 - Your Summer To-Do List
Deer University
In this conversation, Bronson and Steve discuss various topics related to deer management during the summertime. They start by addressing recent concerns about hunters contracting CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) from consuming deer with CWD and emphasize the importance of following public health guidelines and not eating venison from CWD-positive deer. They then move on to discuss deer management tasks for the summer, including getting soil tests and adjusting pH for food plots, moving hunting blinds off food plots to reduce disturbance, controlling ryegrass in food plots, and using prescribed...
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Episode 076 - Buck Food Plot Use During the Hunting Season
Deer University
In this episode we visit with Dr. Natasha Ellison to review her findings relative to buck use of food plots during the hunting season. How often are bucks visiting food plots pre-rut, peak-rut, and post-rut? When are bucks spending more time on food plots? How does hunting pressure affect these relationships? Natasha is a Mathematical Ecologist and is helping the MSU Deer Lab dig deeper in the buck movement dataset to answer questions about buck behavior relevant to hunters and managers. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and choose the Natural...
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Episode 075 - Pulling the Covers Off Buck Beds
Deer University
In this episode we visit with Luke Resop to discuss buck beds and bedding areas. How often are they bedding? What’s their affinity to certain bedding areas? What’s the circuit time for returning to a bedding area? Day beds and night beds are all discussed. We also introduce our newest member to the MSU Deer Lab, Dr. Natasha Ellison. She is a Mathematical Ecologist and is helping us dig deeper in the buck movement dataset to answer questions about buck behavior relevant to hunters and managers. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and...
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Episode 074 – Understanding Buck Movement – Part 2
Deer University
The latest Extension publication from the MSU Deer Lab is “Understanding Buck Movement: How, When, and Why Bucks Navigate the Landscape” is now available for viewing and download. You can find the publication here: https://www.msudeer.msstate.edu/results.php?q=deer%20movement In Part 2, Steve and Bronson discuss more of the findings presented in the publication and explain how you can interpret the data and use the information for management and hunting. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and choose the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop down...
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Episode 073 – Understanding Buck Movement – Part 1
Deer University
The latest Extension publication from the MSU Deer Lab is “Understanding Buck Movement: How, When, and Why Bucks Navigate the Landscape” is now available for viewing and download. You can find the publication here: https://www.msudeer.msstate.edu/results.php?q=deer%20movement In Part 1, Steve and Bronson discuss some of the findings presented in the publication and explain how you can interpret the data and use the information for management and hunting. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and choose the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop down...
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Episode 072 – Fall food plots, how late is too late?
Deer University
The Deep South and other parts of the whitetail’s range are experiencing severe drought and many cool-season food plots are struggling or failing. In this episode we visit with Dr. Erick Larson, an Agronomist and Extension Specialist at Mississippi State University, that works with many of the forages hunters and managers plant for deer. Erick will discuss when is too late and what steps we can take to make the best of a bad situation. Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series () and choose the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop down menu. You will...
info_outlineIn this conversation, Bronson, Steve, and Mark Turner discuss the relationship between doe body weight and buck antler size. Mark's research at the University of Tennessee aimed to evaluate how deer body and antler size varied across the eastern US and what habitat characteristics were associated with bigger deer. The results showed a consistent relationship between doe body weight and buck antler size, with an 8.5-inch increase in antler size for every 10-pound increase in doe body mass. This relationship provides a predictive equation that can help property managers and hunters assess and improve buck antler size by focusing on increasing doe body weight. The conversation also includes topics like harvest bias, compositional bias, and monitoring techniques.
Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series (here) and choose the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop down menu. You will have to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits.
Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)
Takeaways:
There is a consistent relationship between doe body weight and adult buck antler size, with an 8.5-inch increase in antler size for every 10-pound increase in doe body weight.
Increasing doe body weight can lead to larger buck antler size, providing a predictive equation for property managers and hunters to assess and improve antler size.
Harvest bias and compositional bias can affect the accuracy of data collected on deer populations, and monitoring techniques should account for these biases.
Understanding the relationship between doe body weight and buck antler size can help property managers and hunters make informed decisions about deer management and habitat improvement.
Further research is needed to explore the variation in doe body weight and antler size across different regions and climates.
Sound Bites:
"If you can produce 120-inch does, your average mature male is gonna be 139 inches."
"When you give them food and manage the habitat, doe body weights respond, bucks respond, antlers respond."
"If you're not seeing the size of deer that you think you should be seeing, it may be that pulling the trigger is the issue."