Spring and Summer '12

The first phase of the Michigan Predator-Prey Project (http://fwrc.msstate.edu/carnivore/predatorprey/) is now complete, leaving myself and the two doctoral students to summarize and publish our findings. However, this does not mean field work is over! I have accepted a PhD position on the second phase of the study, and this past summer we have begun field work to prepare for phase 2.

The second phase of the study is located north of the Michigamme Reservoir near Crystal Falls, MI. The snowfall here is about 50% greater than that of Escanaba, MI (Phase 1). We are looking into the effects of the local predator guild (black bear, bobcat, coyote, and wolf), habitat, and winter weather on white-tailed deer adult and fawn survival.

We will be estimating annual abundance of all species of interest, and to prepare for this we have set out hair snares and cameras to estimate abundance of black bear and deer, respectively. We have also captured 22 black bear and collared 20 adults (8 male, 12 female) with VHF radio-collars. We will be changing these collars out for GPS-collars in their dens this winter. Then come spring we will be able to better identify what these bears are consuming, and the possible effects they ay have on white-tailed deer fawns. We will also be collaring bobcats, coyotes, and wolves with GPS-collars as well. This winter, we will begin deer trapping adult doe to monitor pregnancy rates, survival, and collar their young to monitor fawn survival.

For more information on this project, including quarterly reports please visit our website (http://fwrc.msstate.edu/carnivore/predatorprey/), we would love to hear from you!

- Tyler