UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences and the Pennsylvania Game Commission recently launched one of the most extensive radio-telemetry studies of male deer dispersal, survival and the effects of antler restrictions for hunting ever attempted in the United States.

"Pennsylvania's deer management program is evolving," says Dr. Gary Alt, game commission deer management section supervisor. "Knowledge gained from this three-year study, which will attempt to monitor 600 bucks in two study areas, will not only further scientific understanding of deer behavior, but also will provide a credible foundation for Pennsylvania's deer management regulations.

"This study should answer two important questions: Will antler restrictions result in greater numbers of older bucks? And, do hunters perceive there are better hunting opportunities?"

Dr. Duane R. Diefenbach, assistant unit leader for the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, based at Penn State, noted that the project should yield a wealth of additional important information aboutthe state's bucks.

"We look forward to learning more about buck activity and movement patterns, antler size changes and antler rubbing and scraping behavior," he says. "And, all of this research data collection can be done without having a negative effect on hunters. In fact, radio-tagged deer are legal to harvest, and we encourage hunters to take the opportunity to do so. All we ask is that they call the toll-free number on the transmitter or ear tag so that we can gain further valuable information about that deer."

Over the next three years, researchers intend to monitor 200 bucks per year in Armstrong and Centre counties. The bucks will be captured and fitted with radio-transmitters by game commission biologists and Penn State graduate students. Deer will be captured using a variety of methods, including drop nets, walk-in traps, dart guns and helicopters.

Helicopter captures are being conducted by Hawkins & Powers Aviation Inc., based in Greybull, Wy. The company has been involved with other helicopter wildlife capture programs for moose, elk and wolves.

Specific project objectives are:

• Determine the survival of bucks from six months to 30 months of age. How many bucks do hunters harvest, what are other causes of mortality and are there regulation changes that might increase buck survival? Combined with the two-year joint Penn State-Game Commission fawn mortality study, this objective should shed additional light on mortality causes for deer.
• Monitor movements of bucks from six months to 30 months of age. How far do bucks disperse, when do they disperse and how many disperse?
• Monitor changes in male age structure because of antler restrictions. How does age affect antler size and how does breeding behavior change? Data already collected from studies in other states show that bucks grow their greatest sets of antlers between the ages of four and eight years. Other studies suggest that age and quality of habitat (nutrition) play significant roles in antler development, as do genetics.
• Evaluate hunter satisfaction with antler restrictions.

Funding for the joint project is being provided by the game commission, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and grants from three foundations being coordinated by Audubon Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Habitat Alliance.

Other recent joint game commission and Penn State studies include the:

• Hunter Movement Study, which was conducted during the fall of 2001 during the rifle deer season in the Sproul State Forest in northcentral Pennsylvania. This study included hundreds of hunters carrying global positioning units to monitor their movements during the hunt. Many more hunters were asked to mark their day's hunt on a topographic map. The DCNR Bureau of Forestry conducted aerial surveys to determine the distribution of hunters.
• Fawn Mortality Study, which is perhaps the most recognized of the several recent deer research projects. Information about this two-year study has been provided to the public through regular journal entries on the game commission's Web site. This project involved capturing and radio-collaring 218 fawns in study areas in Centre and Clearfield counties to determine mortality causes.

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EDITORS: Duane Diefenbach can be contacted at 814-865-4511 or e-mail drd11@psu.edu.

A high-resolution, color photo to accompany this story can be downloaded at http://aginfo.psu.edu/News/december01/buck.tif.

Contact:

Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax