Ecospot Project - Using GIS to Mitigate Overpopulation of White-Tailed Deer

Mitigating The Overabundance

of White-Tailed Deer in Ohio

Geographic Information Systems & Managed Game Hunting

Olivia Matney MA Biology Student, Advanced Inquiry Program

The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is now a staple species to the western hemisphere, with populations ranging as far north as the upper Canadian territories and as far south as Peru [7]. While this species has seen many changes in population numbers over time, their numbers and distribution have exceedingly spread over recent decades [3].

Click the image on the right to learn more about this species' distribution

While the white-tailed deer can be found in a number of landscapes (primarily forests, but also grasslands, swamps, and mountains) in this range, it is known to have profound effects in each [7]. Amongst many others, white-tailed deer offer the following positive ecosystem services:

The direct impacts of browsing and seed dispersal including succession, growth rate, and survival of plants [8]
Serve as food for large predators like gray wolves (Canis lupis), cougars (Puma concolor), bobcats (Lynx rufus), and coyotes (Canis latrans) [7, 9]
Key species in nitrogen cycling and fire regimes [7]

Despite these positive ecosystem services, when overabundant, this species poses a major threat to the status and diversity of other flora and fauna.

On this site, we'll explore the different ways that recreational game hunting and GIS are used together to manage the overpopulation of white-tailed deer.

Navigate the links below to learn more about the history of this species as well as what is being done now to mitigate its overpopulation.

To learn more, navigate the links below

Follow the link above to learn about how deer populations have fluctuated during the Anthropocene and the impacts we are facing today.

Follow the link above to listen to a Podcast episode featuring a candid conversation with an Ohio County Wildlife Officer.

Follow the link above to learn about how the ODNR uses GIS to make game hunting easy for hunters and effective for conservation efforts.

Sources

Chitwood, M., Peterson, M., Bondell, H., Lashley, M., Brown, R., & Deperno, C. (2015). Perspectives of wildlife conservation professionals on intensive deer management. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 39(4), 751–756. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.607
Conover, M. R. (2001). Effect of Hunting and Trapping on Wildlife Damage. Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973-2006), 29(2), 521–532. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3784176
Côté, S., Rooney, T., Tremblay, J.-P., Dussault, C., & Waller, D. (2004). Ecological impacts of deer overabundance. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 35(1), 113–147.
Fairbanks, C. (n.d.). Hunting 500 Years Ago. National Parks Service. Retrieved April 17, 2022, from https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/regional_review/vol6-1-2b.htm
Gamborg, C., Sandoe, P., & Palmer, C. (2020). Ethical management of wildlife. lethal versus nonlethal control of white‐tailed deer. Conservation Science and Practice, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.171
Hanberry, B. B., & Hanberry, P. (2020). Regaining the history of deer populations and densities in the southeastern United States. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 44(3), 512–518. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.1118
Hewitt, D. G. (2015). Hunters and the conservation and management of white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus). International Journal of Environmental Studies, 72(5), 839–849. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2015.1073473
Kniowski, A. B., & Ford, W. M. (2017). Predicting the intensity of white-tailed deer herbivory in the central Appalachian Mountains. Journal of Forestry Research, 29(3), 841–850.
National Resources Conservation Service. (2011). White-tailed Deer Impacts and Forest Management . United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Newsom, J. (1969). History of Deer and Their Habitat in the South. White- Tailed Deer in the Southern. Forest Habitat.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources. (n.d.). Managing Ohio's deer herd. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://ohiodnr.gov/static/documents/wildlife/wildlife-management/Managing%20Ohio's%20Deer%20Herd%20pub087.pdf