Long-Term Trends in Mule Deer Pregnancy and Fetal Rates in Colorado

Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fawn:doe (f:d) ratios in December have declined by 0.015 fawns/doe/year from 1972 through 1995 in Colorado, USA. To determine whether lower pregnancy or fetal production was the cause of low December f:d ratios, we estimated mule deer pregnancy rates in the Poudre River drainage during January 1998 and pregnancy and fetal rates on the Uncompahgre Plateau during February 1999. Twenty-seven (93.1%) of 29 yearling and adult does in the Poudre River drainage were detected pregnant with pregnancy-specific protein-B (PSPB). This proportion did not differ (P > 0.2) from the proportion of yearling and adult does that were pregnant when collected by various methods in previous studies in Colorado....

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Colorado, Journal of Wildlife Management, Odocoileus hemionus, The Wildlife Society, fecundity, All tags... mule deer, natality, population dynamics, pregnancy-specific protein-B, ultrasound, Fewer tags