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White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

Summary 6

The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru. It has also been introduced to New Zealand and some countries in Europe, such as Finland, Czech Republic, and Serbia. In the Americas, it is the most widely distributed wild ungulate.

Moist pacific coast mangroves habitat 7

This taxon occurs in the Moist Pacific Coast mangroves, an ecoregion along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica with a considerable number of embayments that provide shelter from wind and waves, thus favouring mangrove establishment. Tidal fluctuations also directly influence the mangrove ecosystem health in this zone. The Moist Pacific Coast mangroves ecoregion has a mean tidal amplitude of three and one half metres,

Many of the streams and rivers, which help create this mangrove ecoregion, flow down from the Talamanca Mountain Range. Because of the resulting high mountain sediment loading, coral reefs are sparse along the Pacific coastal zone of Central America, and thus reef zones are chiefly found offshore near islands. In this region, coral reefs are associated with the mangroves at the Isla del Caño Biological Reserve, seventeen kilometres from the mainland coast near the Térraba-Sierpe Mangrove Reserve. The Térraba-Sierpe, found at the mouths of the Térraba and Sierpe Rivers, is considered a wetland of international importance.

Because of high moisture availability, the salinity gradient is more moderate than in the more northern ecoregion such as the Southern dry Pacific Coast ecoregion. Resulting mangrove vegetation is mixed with that of marshland species such as Dragonsblood Tree (Pterocarpus officinalis), Campnosperma panamensis, Guinea Bactris (Bactris guineensis), and is adjacent to Yolillo Palm (Raphia taedigera) swamp forest, which provides shelter for White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta palliata). Mangrove tree and shrub taxa include Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), Mangle Caballero (R. harrisonii) R. racemosa (up to 45 metres in canopy height), Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans) and Mangle Salado (A. bicolor), a mangrove tree restricted to the Pacific coastline of Mesoamerica.

Two endemic birds listed by IUCN as threatened in conservation status are found in the mangroves of this ecoregion, one being the Mangrove Hummingbird (Amazilia boucardi EN), whose favourite flower is the Tea Mangrove (Pelliciera rhizophorae), the sole mangrove plant pollinated by a vertebrate. Another endemic avain species to the ecoregion is the  Yellow-billed Cotinga (Carpodectes antoniae EN).  Other birds clearly associated with the mangrove habitat include Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja), Gray-necked Wood Rail (Aramides cajanea), Rufous-necked Wood Rail (A. axillaris), Mangrove Black-hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus subtilis),Striated Heron (Butorides striata), Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata), Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius), American White Ibis (Eudocimus albus), Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona), Mangrove Cuckoo (Coccyzus minor), Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia), and Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus VU) among other avian taxa.

Mammals although not as numerous as birds, include species such as the Lowland Paca (Agouti paca), Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata), White-throated Capuchin (Cebus capucinus), Silky Anteater (Cyclopes didactylus), Central American Otter (Lontra longicaudis annectens), White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), feeds on leaves within A. bicolor and L. racemosa forests. Two raccoons: Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor) and Crab-eating Raccoon (P. cancrivorus) can be found, both on the ground and in the canopy consuming crabs and mollusks. The Mexican Collared Anteater (Tamandua mexicana) is also found in the Moist Pacific Coast mangroves.

There are a number of amphibians in the ecoregion, including the anuran taxa: Almirante Robber Frog (Craugastor talamancae); Chiriqui Glass Frog (Cochranella pulverata); Forrer's Grass Frog (Lithobates forreri), who is found along the Pacific versant, and is at the southern limit of its range in this ecoregion. Example salamanders found in the ecoregion are the Colombian Worm Salamander (Oedipina parvipes) and the Gamboa Worm Salamander (Oedipina complex), a lowland organism that is found in the northern end of its range in the ecoregion. Reptiles including the Common Basilisk Lizard (Basiliscus basiliscus), Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor), American Crocodile (Crocodilus acutus), Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus), Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis) and Common Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) thrive in this mangrove ecoregion.

Associations 8

White-tailed deer can greatly influence the composition of plant communities through their grazing, especially where they are abundant. In severe winters white-tailed deer can be responsible for girdling and killing large numbers of trees. White-tailed deer are also important prey animals for a number of large predators.

Ecology 9

Two basic social groups: adult female(s) and young, and adult and occasionally yearling males (though adult males are solitary during the breeding season except when attending estrous females).

Home range 16-120 ha (40-300 acres) (Banfield 1974); varies with conditions, smallest in summer. Annual home range of sedentary populations averages 59-520 ha (Smith 1991). Some populations undergo annual migrations of 10 to 50 kilometers (Marchinton and Hirth 1984).

Population density 1 per 6-46 acres, depending upon environmental conditions (Baker 1983). In some areas density may exceed 50/sq km (Rooney 1995).

Dispersal from mother's home range is mostly by yearling males. In Minnesota, 7 of 35 yearling females dispersed 18-168 km from natal ranges during late May through June; dispersal was independent of deer density (Nelson and Mech 1992); 95% of all yearlings dispersed not more than 38 km (Nelson 1993). Home range formation may extend over 2-3 years.

Winter weather (snow accumulation) may strongly affect populations, even more so than density of wolves in areas where the latter are present (Mech et al. 1987, Potvin et al. 1992). In many areas, coyotes or domestic dogs are significant predators.

White-tailed deer carry and disperse into the environment meningeal worms that usually are fatal to moose and caribou but are clinically benign in deer; hence, white-tailed deer, through worm-mediated impacts, commonly are believed to exclude moose and caribou from areas where deer occur; however, an analysis by Schmitz and Nudds (1994) concluded that moose may be able to coexist with deer, albeit at lower densities, even in the absence of habitat refuges from the disease. Also, Whitlaw and Lankester (1994) found that the evidence that brainworm has caused moose declines is weak. Further study is needed.

Deer browsing may significantly impact vegetation characteristics (e.g., Anderson 1994).

Behaviour 10

White-tailed deer have scent glands between the two parts of the hoof on all four feet, outside of each hind leg, and on the inside of each hind leg. Scent from these glands is used to communicate with other deer and secretions become especially strong during the mating season.

White-tailed deer produce several types of vocalizations such as grunts, wheezes, and bleats. These vocalizations, along with other sounds and postures, are used for communication (Smith, 1991). Injured deer utter a startlingly loud "blatt" or bawl. Whistles or snorts of disturbed white-tailed deer are the most commonly heard sounds.

Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

Other Communication Modes: pheromones ; scent marks

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

Threats 11

Major Threats

These threats are only considered for the subspecies of Central and South America: feral dogs may be a nuisance to deer in some areas (Causey and Cude 1980). Some populations in Venezuela are threatened by overhunting and habitat loss (Moscarella et al. 2003). Poaching is the other cause of local population extinction.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) J. Martin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/91115622@N00/751501000
  2. (c) Averette, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Key_deer_male.jpg/460px-Key_deer_male.jpg
  3. Ken Thomas, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/White-tailed_Deer-27527-4.jpg
  4. (c) Lynette Schimming, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3141/2944826417_1b7f9f9978.jpg
  5. Stehn, Tom, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/21446.jpg
  6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odocoileus_virginianus
  7. (c) World Wildlife Fund & C. Michael Hogan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/26748176
  8. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31411082
  9. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28740324
  10. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31411079
  11. (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34606412

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