Research Team
- Brent Patterson, research scientist
- Bruce Pond, research scientist
- Keith Munro, doctoral candidate, Trent University
- Andrew Silver, research technician
- Ashley McLaren, research biologist
Project Objectives/Overview
Wolves are very successful at controlling deer populations. In addition to the direct killing of deer, wolves present a risk of mortality that deer respond to. Deer will move to safer areas and trade off feeding time for increased vigilance. These behavioural changes have costs and these costs limit the growth of the population. In most areas with human-deer conflict there are no wolves and hunting is the main cause of deer mortality. The limited duration of the hunt means that deer have no need to alter their behaviour for most of the year.
We are attempting to determine if hunter harvest could be improved as a tool of deer management. By structuring hunting like natural predation, we can control both the size and behaviour of the deer population with the goal of maintaining it at levels that are both ecologically and culturally sustainable. To do this we are carrying out a GPS tracking project of both deer and hunters in Marlborough Forest in the Ottawa area. Using these data we will create spatial simulation models to experiment with different hunting strategies.
Collaborators and Participants
- City of Ottawa
- Kemptville District MNR Office
Funding Partners
- NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council)
- Trent University
- MNR Applied Research and Development Branch
Interesting Facts!
1) So far we have captured and collared 60 deer over two winters and have tracked the movements of 22 hunters over one hunting season. 2) We have seen some impressive seasonal migrations of over 20 km as the deer move from their winter to summer home ranges. Also not all deer migrate. Some remain in areas that other deer abandon during the winter. 3) During the hunt, the deer move into areas of denser cover such as thick swamp, most likely to avoid hunters.
