An Adaptive Management Plan for Reducing White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Herbivory in Ottawa County Parks, MI
Presentation Type
Oral and/or Visual Presentation
Presenter Major(s)
Natural Resource Management
Mentor Information
Todd Aschenbach, aschenbt@gvsu.edu; Heather Rueth, ruethh@gvsu.edu
Department
Biology
Location
Kirkhof Center 1142
Start Date
13-4-2011 10:30 AM
End Date
13-4-2011 11:00 AM
Keywords
Environment
Abstract
White-Tailed Deer populations are causing significant changes to forested parks in Ottawa County, MI. Excessive deer herbivory of understory vegetation threatens to decrease biodiversity and eliminate ground cover for wildlife. I hypothesize that increased hunting pressure along with deer exclosures will decrease herbivory in Ottawa County. An adaptive management plan will be created that includes deer exclosures to inhibit herbivory along with follow-up monitoring of understory vegetation. Results will be used to make an effective deer control program for the DNRE that will restore understory biodiversity to the forested ecosystems in Ottawa County, MI.
An Adaptive Management Plan for Reducing White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Herbivory in Ottawa County Parks, MI
Kirkhof Center 1142
White-Tailed Deer populations are causing significant changes to forested parks in Ottawa County, MI. Excessive deer herbivory of understory vegetation threatens to decrease biodiversity and eliminate ground cover for wildlife. I hypothesize that increased hunting pressure along with deer exclosures will decrease herbivory in Ottawa County. An adaptive management plan will be created that includes deer exclosures to inhibit herbivory along with follow-up monitoring of understory vegetation. Results will be used to make an effective deer control program for the DNRE that will restore understory biodiversity to the forested ecosystems in Ottawa County, MI.