11 Jun BIO 160 Midterm -Black-tailed deer inhabit forests
Question
HW: Deer Data Analysis BIO 160, Spring 2017 Name __________________________________________
Part ONE: Black-tailed deer inhabit forests along the Pacific coast of North America dominated by
conifers such as Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and Sitka Spruce. These forests tend to be relatively cool,
wet, and productive. Despite the moderating effect of the Pacific Ocean, the deer are exposed to some
harsh winters at the northern end of their range. Temperatures are not exceptionally low, but snow
commonly accumulates to depths that present deer with serious problems, such as lack of food and
mobility.
You are a wildlife biologist working in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. You are part of a region wide
task force, charged with developing a plan for managing the black-tailed deer.
You have 5 years of data on deer densities in your district from each of three forest types (see map
below) as well as measures of winter snow accumulation (see table below). Year
2009
2010
2011
2012
2014
Averag
e Winter snow
accumulatio
n (cm)
40
85
30
75
20
50 Ratios of deer densities
Early
2
1
2
1
4 Mid
1
1
1
1
1 Old
2
6
1
5
1 2 1 3 Midterm, NRC 564-F14
1. How do the deer’s preferences change with the harshness of the winter? Why the shift?
2. Choose from the following options below, and explain your detailed management plan.
a.
b.
c.
d. Prioritize conserving old growth forest
Create canopy gaps in mid-successional forest
Maintain a mixture of all 3 forest types in the landscape
Prioritize generating more early successional forest
Part TWO: The Quabbin Reservoir is a major source of drinking water for urban populations in greater
Boston, but it and the surrounding preserved lands encompass one of the largest contiguous pieces of
woodland in Massachusetts. Thus, the Quabbin is managed for a wide variety of uses including the
location for the endangered Timber Rattlesnake headstart program.
By the 1980s, managers of the Quabbin Reservoir were aware that the forests around the reservoir were
not regenerating similar to at Yellowstone. They became convinced that this was due to excessive
browsing by deer. Hunting had been prohibited for decades, but they began allowing deer hunting in a
limited way in 1991. You are asked to lead a study of the impacts of the change in hunting policy. Below
is a table showing the relationship between the shrub Mountain Laurel (commonly eaten by deer) and
White-tailed Deer populations over the decades. W-T Deer Populations in the Quabbin
2010 2000 1990 1980
0 2 4 6 8 Deer Density Column1 10 12 14 1. Using the bar graph above answer the following questions.
a. Between which decades did the Mountain Laurel populations increase the least?
b. Describe the relationship between White-tailed Deer and Mountain Laurel.
2. BONUS: Define 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th order levels of habitat selection, of the deer population. Midterm, NRC 564-F14
1st 2nd 3rd 4th – 3. Using LIDAR to examine the height of vegetation in different layers of the forest, you find that
the vertical structure in forest stands on one section of the Quabbin looks like graph #1 while the
stands on another section look like graph #
2. Deer hunting has been allowed in Stand 2, but not
in Stand 1.
a. Which stand is most likely old-growth forest and which is most likely early-successional?
b. Explain what the differences are between the two stands, and how deer hunting may
have been responsible for those differences.
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