Movements of female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at Chesapeake Farms, Maryland and the Great Cypress Swamp, Delaware

I used GPS collars and frequent sampling (?24 locations/day) to document themovements of 27 female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at two study sites with high density herds and equal sex ratios. I used monthly datasets to describe the accuracy of home range analyses based on differing sampling regimes and quantified the errors associated witheach regime. Results confirmed that kernel home range calculations were more reliable thanminimum convex polygon (MCP) methods; however, large errors were also associated withkernel areas calculated from small datasets. Intensive sampling regimes also allowed me toreport short-term excursions by female deer during the suspected time conception. This is one ofthe first studies to document these movements in high-density, well-managed herds. Finally,intensive sampling regimes helped to reveal a rhythmic-like pattern in the daily-distance traveledby female deer. The cause for this pattern was not determined but opens the door for futureresearch.