Abstracts

Abstract: Measurements of the many variables in deer populations are impossible due to the numbers and kinds of variables present. Age class frequencies, sex ratios, and vulnerability to environmental stresses are three examples of variables which cannot be measured conveniently on free-ranging populations. Inputs of values for these variables in a comprehensive computer model must be in the right proportions or the model becomes biologically unrealistic. This casts doubt on the use of computer models when, in fact, the extent of biological understanding should be questioned instead. We have derived proportional relationships for several population variables, and a computer program has been written which has been successfully applied to over 20 consecutive years of population simulations without generation of unrealistic or disproportionate population structures or numbers. While the derivations have been based primarily on northern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virainianug), there are indications that the proportions apply to deer in more southern states as well, though the absolute values may be different. This presentation will alert biologists and managers in the Southeast to the kind of population program that has been developed, will call attention the variables needed, and will demonstrate the potential this computer program has for management purposes. Many decades of deer management can be simulated in a single working day, providing considerable insight into population dynamics under different environmental and management conditions. The program will be demonstrated on portable computers at the conference.