We applied an 8-year selection process in an attempt to determine if yearling antler quality in subsequent cohorts could be improved by selecting for yearling male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) exhibiting relatively superior antler potential under suboptimal nutritional conditions. In 41 single-sire (breeding M) breeding herds, 217 yearling males were produced on an 8% protein diet of limited quantity. All antler measurements increased significantly (P < 0.001) during the study: number of points ( 3.2), inside spread ( 96.5 mm), main beam length ( 129.1 mm), basal circumference ( 21.6 mm), and total antler weight ( 231.3 g). Furthermore, mean gross Boone and Crockett (GBC) score increased (P < 0.001) linearly throughout the study, with the GBC of the 1999 cohort exceeding that of the 1993 cohort by 36.4 in (923.0 mm). These data provide insight to the effectiveness of a selection process (i.e., culling) in an overall deer-management program.
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1 November 2007
Genetic and Environmental Interaction in White-Tailed Deer
MITCHELL A. LOCKWOOD,
DON B. FRELS,
WILLIAM E. ARMSTRONG,
EUGENE FUCHS,
DONNIE E. HARMEL
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Journal of Wildlife Management
Vol. 71 • No. 8
November 2007
Vol. 71 • No. 8
November 2007
antler restrictions
nutritional stress
Odocoileus virginianus
selective harvest
spike males
white-tailed deer