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Twenty-year Home-range Dynamics
of a White-tailed Deer Matriline

Michael E. Nelson and L. David Mech

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Abstract: We examined the seasonal migration and home-range dynamics of a multigeneration white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) matriline comprising six females from four generations spanning a 20-year period in northeastern Minnesota. All, from the matriarch to her great-granddaughter, migrated to the same summer and winter ranges, the longest individual record being 14.5 years. Three maternal females concurrently occupied exclusive fawning sites within their ancestral matriarch's summer range, while two nonmaternal females explored new areas and ranged near their mothers. One great-granddaughter expanded her summer range 1 km beyond the matriarch's summer range while essentially vacating half of her ancestors' range and becoming nonmigratory the last 4 years of her life. These data indicate that individual movements of matriline members can potentially expand their ranges beyond the areas occupied by their ancestors through a slow process of small incremental changes. This suggests that the rapid extension of deer range in eastern North America resulted from natal dispersal by yearling deer rather than from the type of home-range expansion reported here.

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This resource is based on the following source (Northern Prairie Publication 1075):

Nelson, Michael E., and L. David Mech.  1999.  Twenty-year home-range 
     dynamics of a white-tailed deer matriline.  Canadian Journal of Zoology 
     77:1128-1135.

This resource should be cited as:

Nelson, Michael E., and L. David Mech.  1999.  Twenty-year home-range 
     dynamics of a white-tailed deer matriline.  Canadian Journal of Zoology 
     77:1128-1135.  Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 
     Online.  http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/mammals/deermat/index.htm  
     (Version 31MAY2000).

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
  • Capture and Demography
  • Home-range Dynamics
  • Matriarch (M112)
  • Daughter (D106)
  • Granddaughters (G6381 and G6996)
  • Great-Granddaughters (GG6974 and GG7000)
  • Summer Range Relationships
  • Table 1 -- Location data for six deer from the Gabbro Lake matriline.
• Discussion
• Acknowledgments
• References

Figures

• Fig. 1 -- Genetic relationships, ages and years of first capture and end of radio-tracking interval for a 20-year white-tailed deer matriline.
• Fig. 2 -- Locations of M112 during March-November 1977 and D106 during April-June 1976.
• Fig. 3 -- Locations of M112 and D106 during April-November 1979.
• Fig. 4 -- Locations of D106, G6381, and GG6974 during (A) April-May; and (B) June-August 1988.
• Fig. 5 -- Locations of G6996 and GG7000 in April-August 1988.
• Fig. 6 -- Locations of G6996 and GG7000 in April-October 1990.

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Michael E. Nelson¹ and L. David Mech². Biological Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, 8711 - 37th St. SE, Jamestown, ND 58401-7317, U.S.A.

¹ Author to whom correspondence should be sent at the following address: Kawishiwi Field Lab, SR 1, Box 7200, Ely, MN 55731, U.S.A.
² Mailing address: North Central Forest Experiment Station, 1992 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A.

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