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Deer, oh Deer!

Season 5 | Episode 8

Deer, oh Deer!

Aug. 1, 2024

If you are a forest practitioner in the eastern forests of North America (and maybe elsewhere), at one time or another you likely have been frustrated by white-tailed deer. Browse impacts on forest vegetation are significant and long-lasting, but those impacts are not the same everywhere, making deer browse a challenging issue to understand and address. On this episode, we seek to better understand how deer impact our forests and what clues the latest science holds for mitigating browse impacts through silviculture. We spoke with two leading researchers on deer-forest interactions, Alex Royo, research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Research Station, and Amanda McGraw, research scientist with the Wisconsin DNR.

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GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE

Alejandro A. Royo, Ph.D.

Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, U.S. Forest Service

Alejandro Royo was born and raised in the Republic of Panama, where he developed a fascination for science and the natural world. He has worked as a research ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service for 22 years since obtaining his Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on the factors that regulate forest plant diversity in a dynamic world and includes ungulate browsing, disturbances, silviculture, and climate change.

Amanda McGraw

Research Scientist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Amanda McGraw was raised in the upper Midwest by parents who instilled in her from an early age a deep love for the outdoors. Seeking a career in natural resources, she attended UW-Madison and the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Twin Cities, earning an undergraduate degree in wildlife ecology and graduate degrees in integrated biosciences and natural resources, respectively. Amanda has worked for the Wisconsin DNR since 2016, first with the wildlife research program and then with the forestry ecology and economics program since 2020. Her research is applied, with a focus on forest management, forest ecology, and forest-wildlife interactions.

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Episode Show Notes

Experimental evaluation of four protocols for assessing white-tailed deer browse intensity. Quirion and Blossey. Ecological Indicators, Vol. 154, 110651. October 2023.

Selection rankings of woody species for white-tailed deer vary with browse intensity and landscape context within the Central Hardwood Forest Region. Sample et al. Forest Ecology and Management Vol. 537, 120969. June 2023

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Deer Browsing may Constrain Climate-smart Reforestation. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 2021.

Spatio-temporal variation in foodscapes modifies deer browsing impact on vegetation. Royo et al. Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service. Landscape Ecology, 32 (12). 2017, pp. 2281-2295.

The Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative: can adaptive management and local stakeholder engagement sustain reduced impact of ungulate browsers in forest systems? Royo et al. Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service. Boreal Environmental Research, 18 (suppl.A). 2013, pp. 50-64.

White-tailed Deer Impact on the Vegetation Dynamics of a Northern Hardwood Forest. Horsley et al. Ecological Applications, 13 (1). 2003, pp. 98-118.

Effects and Extent of Deer Browse on Forest Regeneration. Wisconsin DNR.

Wisconsin DNR’s Deer Metrics

USDA DREAM (Desired REgeneration through Assisted Migration)

Quebecois DREAM (Desired REgeneration through Assisted Migration)

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