| Despite extensive research on white-tailed deer, many questions remain regarding differences in reproductive success among males and females of different ages, and the effects of dominance on female reproduction. Between 1997 and 2001 these questions were addressed for a white-tailed deer herd of 130–150 animals on the University of Michigan's Edwin S. George Reserve, a natural area of 513 ha. surrounded by a deer proof fence. Paternity was assigned to embryos from harvested females through analyses of microsatellites. Nearly all males over two years of age produced offspring. There was a significant, positive relationship between the ages of males older than 3.5 years-old and the ages females mated. In addition, yearling males mated almost exclusively with yearling females. Multiple paternity was frequent, with joint fathers of twins always of different ages, the eldest from the oldest age classes of males (6.5–7.5). It is hypothesized that older males displaced young males consorting with ovulating females, with the result that both males fathered offspring.; Female dominance was found to be significantly related to age, with no decrease in dominance for the oldest females. Resource availability, which varied in different years with herd density and acorn masts, significantly and positively affected the number of young that females conceived. Age and weight of females related to the number and sex of young conceived. Older females, which tended to be dominant, disproportionately produced male offspring.; Despite the size of the E.S.G.R., female deer appear not to roam the entire property. During three years of visual observations, coupled with telemetry data, females regularly used areas so small that many females on the E.S.G.R probably never interact. Mean female home range size, calculated as a Minimum Convex Polygon from both visual and telemetry data, was 97 ha. |
