South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange Theses and Dissertations 2017 An Evaluation of Deer and Pronghorn Surveys in South Dakota Kristopher W. Cudmore South Dakota State University Follow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd Part of the Animal Sciences Commons, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Cudmore, Kristopher W., "An Evaluation of Deer and Pronghorn Surveys in South Dakota" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 1126. http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1126 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN EVALUATION OF DEER AND PRONGHORN SURVEYS IN SOUTH DAKOTA BY KRISTOPHER W. CUDMORE A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science Major in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Specialization in Wildlife Sciences South Dakota State University 2017 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my major adviser Dr. Jonathan A. Jenks for his wisdom, advice and encouragement throughout this study. Jon, I thank you for all that you have taught me and the valuable insight you have given me. I also thank you for the freedom to think independently throughout my time at South Dakota State University. It has been a privilege working with you and I look forward to future collaborative research efforts with you. I also highly respect you on not only a professional level but also on a personal level. This research could not have been completed if it were not for the cooperation and support of numerous people. Dr. Troy Grovenburg, I thank you for the guidance and assistance with running the random tessellation analysis on this study. I could not have done this without you. I would also like to thank Dr. Josh Stafford for review of my thesis and for sitting in as a committee member. To the numerous South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks employees that have helped me with the surveys, invaluable advice, and helping answer research questions. Namely Kevin Robling, John Kanta, Andy Lindbloom, Steve Griffin, Lauren Wiechmann, Trenton Haffley, Jimmy Doyle, John Broecher and Luke Meduna. Kevin, you have tirelessly answered questions about the analysis and put up with everything I threw at you and somehow you managed to keep a smile on your face throughout, thank you. John Kanta, Kevin Robling and Andy Lindbloom thank you all for the guidance and assistance with staffing needs throughout this whole project. To Steve Griffin and Lauren Wiechmann thank you for all the tireless hours you put in on this project. I would also like to thank you too for the laughs and constant playful jesting which helped me through this project. Trenton Haffley and iv Jimmy Doyle I need to extend a hand to you two as well for the long hours and help in developing the additional routes for the 2014 season. It has been my pleasure to work side by side with these folks and I look forward to future collaborations with them as my career progresses. In addition to those specific Game and Fish employees I need to extend a thank you to the many unnamed South Dakota Game and Fish employees around the state for their survey efforts on this project. An absolutely massive amount of man hours went into this project and I surely could not have done this if it was not for the large effort everyone around the state exerted. I need to also thank Brandon Tycz and Brynn Parr, two of my fellow graduate students. From questions on research and classes to our weekly get togethers to discuss what was going on in our small worlds I appreciate the time we have spent together. Finally, and most importantly, I need to thank my family for their continued support and encouragement while I purse my passion. To my departed Grandmother, I appreciate all the kind words and you being a solid foundation to grow upon. I love you very much and words cannot express the gratitude I have for you. I thank you for everything you have done for me throughout my life, I wish you were here to see this projects completion. To my wife, Marcie, thank you for always standing behind me, even when I was horribly grumpy, and keeping me on track with loving and kind words. I could not have done this without you and your loving support. To my two daughters, Jocelyn and Luciana, you two are a gift from God and I am grateful to be your father. You two, along with your mother, are the fuel that keeps me moving forward even when I v think I want to give up. I appreciate my family never saying a word when I was gone for days on end and working odd hours of the day and night. Thank you. Funding for this project was provided by the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration, Project W-75-R-145, No. 7546, administered through South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at South Dakota State University. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xvii LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................................. xix ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................xx CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND STUDY AREA ....................................................1 A. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................2 B. STUDY AREA ........................................................................................................4 CHAPTER 2. ESTIMATING POPULATION SIZE OF DEER IN THE BLACK HILLS. ....................................................................................................................12 A. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................13 B. METHODS ............................................................................................................15 C. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................20 D. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................27 E. MANAGEMENT IMPLICAITONS .....................................................................31 CHAPTER 3. DEER HERD COMPOSITION: AGE AND SEX RATIOS .....................34 A. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................35 B. METHODS ............................................................................................................36 C. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................39 D. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................47 E. MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS .....................................................................54 CHAPTER 4. PRONGHORN HERD COMPOSITION: AGE AND SEX RATIOS .......56 vii A. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................57 B. METHODS ............................................................................................................58 C. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................61 D. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................64 E. MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS .....................................................................68 LITERATURE CITED ......................................................................................................70 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Total deer identified during pilot study on each transect for all different sampling methods ....................................................................................................86 Table 2. The percentage increase of deer observed at each transect from one observer to two observers ............................................................................................86 Table 3. The percentage of unknowns in total deer observed with one observer and two observers ....................................................................................................86 Table 4. Distance Outputs for 2012-2014. DS=Density of Clusters (How many deer in each group), D=Density of Animals (deer/Kilometer squared), N=Population estimate, SE=Standard Error .............................................87 Table 5. Sample size calculations for each year for age ratios. ........................................94 Table 6. ANOVA comparison of white-tailed deer age ratios between months for daylight counts. ........................................................................................................94 Table 7. ANOVA comparison of white-tailed deer age ratios by habitat type for daylight counts