Fall/Winter 1999

Current Research: Factors Affecting Reproductive Success of Male White-tailed Deer

Deer management has reached an intensity never before seen in North America. Managers try to improve characteristics of harvested animals, particularly antler characteristics such as number of points, spread and over-all size.

Most antler characteristics probably have a strong link to the populations' genetic makeup and the manager's ability to manipulate that makeup. The relationship between a whitetail buck's age, social dominance and antler development and his ability to contribute significantly to the "gene pool" has not been documented, thus calling into question the effectiveness of selective harvest strategies which emphasize protection of "superior" animals.

Recent technological advances in DNA techniques allow us to identify the maternal and paternal lineages within a local population of white-tailed deer. This methodology will allow us to quantify the relationships between a buck's antler development, social standing, and age and his reproductive contribution to the population at various sex ratios. In other words, at what age do bucks typically begin to sire fawns and how does the sex ratio of the population affect this relationship. The answers to these questions will have significant ramifications to selective harvest strategies designed to improve antler characteristics of white-tailed deer populations throughout Mississippi.

Randy DeYoung, Steve Demarais, Ken Gee and Rodney Hunneycut with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at Mississippi State University are conducting this project in cooperation with the Noble Foundation, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and several private landowners.