Mule Deer Telemetry - Siskiyou - 2015-2020 [ds3013]

This telemetry dataset is a product of the collaborative study between the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) to address the public and resource management agencies interests in CDFW Region 1s declining hunter harvests of deer, apparent deer population declines, and lack of information regarding factors affecting deer populations. The studys main objectives were to estimate deer population size, composition, and changes in abundance using fecal DNA mark-resight methods; assess factors influencing deer population growth; identify the diet composition and seasonal changes in foraging strategies of deer; and identify and describe characteristics of core reproductive areas, migration corridors, and winter ranges of radio-collared deer (Wittmer et al. 2021). Most of the 25 female adult deer they captured in March 2015 were fitted with two collars. The first collar was a GPS lifetime collar (Survey Globalstar, Vectronic Aerospace, Germany), and the second was a satellite-enabled GPS collar (Vertex Plus Iridium, Vectronic Aerospace, Germany). They also captured 61 female adult deer from July 2016 to September 2018, but these deer were fitted with just one collar, the Vertex Plus Iridium GPS collar, except for deer captured in March 2018, which were fitted with the Survey Globalstar GPS collar instead. A total of 86 female adult deer were captured, but 4 died during capture, and 1 had a collar that malfunctioned 4 days after release. A couple notes: 1.) The study area primarily falls within the X1 and C1 hunting zones and is likely part of an introgression zone between black-tailed deer and mule deer and 2.) The Survey Globalstar GPS collars functioned for much shorter time periods than anticipated, but the associated VHF transmitters in these collars allowed the biologists to continue monitoring the status of adult female deer once every month using ground-based monitoring.

Access and Use Constraints: Keep secure- CDFW employees only.

Disclaimer: The State makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or adequacy of these data and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in these data. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to these data.

Withholding Scientific Data: This data may only be used within the Department, but the point of contact to approve use or dissemination is required.