An Analysis of a Measure of Productivity in Mule Deer Populations

• Main Author: Ryel, Ronald J.
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@USU 1980
• Subjects: mule deer; population; productivity; fawns; does; reproduction; Animal Sciences; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Environmental Sciences
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6406; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7434&context=etd

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the fall proportion of fawns among fawns and does in a mule deer population and two measures of productivity, the spring recruitment rate and the reproductive performance as measured in the fall. The spring recruitment rate was defined to be the number of fawns per doe which were recruited into the population at 1 year of age. The reproductive performance was defined to be the number of fawns produced per doe 2 years or older which survive to a specified time. The relationships between these quantities were measured by calculating linear coefficients of correlation from data generated by a projection matrix model of a mule deer population. A coefficient of correlation of 0.86 was found between the fall proportion of fawns and the rate at which fawns are recruited into the spring population. A coefficient of correlation of 0.89 was found between the fall proportion of fawns and the reproductive performance as measured in the fall. The effect of misclassifying fawns as does and does as fawns on estimates of the proportion of fawns among fawns and does was also investigated. A comparison was made between the expected values of two estimates of the fall proportion, one with misclassification and one without misclassification. The misclassification of fawns and does was found to bias estimates of the proportion of fawns. The bias was found to be a function of the amount of misclassification and the actual pro, portion of fawns.