Gilbertson, M. L., Ketz, A. C., Hunsaker, M., Jarosinski, D., Ellarson, W., Walsh, D. P., ... & Turner, W. C. (2022). Agricultural land use shapes dispersal in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Movement Ecology, 10(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-022-00342-5
Abstract
Dispersal is a fundamental process to animal population dynamics and gene flow. In white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus), dispersal also presents an increasingly relevant risk for the spread of infectious diseases. Across their wide range, WTD dispersal is believed to be driven by a suite of landscape and host behavioral factors, but these can vary by region, season, and sex. Our objectives were to (1) identify dispersal events in Wisconsin WTD and determine drivers of dispersal rates and distances, and (2) determine how landscape features (e.g., rivers, roads) structure deer dispersal paths.