Rutting behavior and factors influencing vehicle collisions of white-tailed deer in Middle Tennessee

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; deer) and human populations have expanded, and as a result, deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) have become a primary concern. In particular, Arnold Air Force Base (AAFB) in Tullahoma, Tennessee, USA has had extensive problems with DVCs and has struggled to incorporate effective mitigation strategies. To address this issue, I initiated a study on AAFB to investigate deer behavior and factors increasing the likelihood of DVCs.

DVCs typically increase with peaks in deer activity during the breeding season (rut). I deployed GPS-ARGOS satellite collars on 10 adult males and 10 females during the summer of 2010. I investigated movement rates, excursions, home ranges, and interactions throughout the fall-winter seasons of 2010, which included the rut. I partitioned the rut into 3 periods (pre-, peak-, and post-rut) based on estimation from fetal measurements from 16 females collected during the spring of 2011. Males increased movement rates, used core areas less, and took excursions as the rut peaked. Females showed constant use of core areas with no deviations in movement rates, but took excursions outside of home ranges during the rut. I documented a female that excursed during the peak-rut to interact with a male. I believe this was associated with breeding and was influenced by a lack of male presence when the female entered estrus or a result of participation in mate selection.

I used 8 years (2002 – 2009) of documented DVC locations at AAFB on major roads outside the Security Area to investigate temporal and spatial patterns. I tallied DVCs by month of occurrence to gain a better understanding of high-risk periods. I also measured and modeled land cover and transportation variables for DVC and random locations to identify important factors affecting DVC spatial distributions. I found DVCs were greatest during fall-winter, which coincides with increased deer activity during the rut at AAFB. My model results suggested pine plantations, drainages, road intersections, and traffic volume were important determinants in DVCs. I believe the most pertinent mitigation strategy is to focus future implementation and management of pine plantations away from roads, especially in predominately hardwood forests.