Ja. Jenks et al., COMPETITION IN SYMPATRIC WHITE-TAILED DEER AND CATTLE POPULATIONS IN SOUTHERN PINE FORESTS OF OKLAHOMA AND ARKANSAS, USA, Acta Theriologica, 41(3), 1996, pp. 287-306
Inferences on competitive interactions between white-tailed deer Odoco
ileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780) and cattle were made using inform
ation on diet composition and quality. We hypothesized that dietary ov
erlap between deer and cattle would increase with cattle density and t
hat quality of deer diets would be higher in areas not exposed to catt
le than in areas that were stocked with moderate to high cattle densit
ies. Three treatments were delineated in McCurtain County, Oklahoma (h
eavy cattle stocking), and Howard (moderate to light cattle stocking)
and Pike (no cattle stocking) counties, Arkansas. Treatments were simi
lar with respect to soils and vegetation but differed with respect to
cattle stocking rate tie number of cattle/ha). Deer and cattle diets a
nd concentrations of fecal nitrogen (FN) (an index to dietary quality)
were determined from feces that were obtained from 12 randomly select
ed collection areas (4/treatment) from October 1986 to October 1988. D
ietary overlap of deer and cattle was highest in winter and lowest in
summer. Dietary overlap of deer populations was lowest for populations
exposed to heavy cattle stocking and no cattle stocking, which sugges
ted that competition between the deer and cattle occurred in winter. F
ecal nitrogen was lowest in deer feces collected from treatments with
cattle stocking in February but higher in August and October. Both die
tary quality and dietary overlap suggested possible competitive intera
ctions between deer and cattle in winter. However, higher dietary forb
and dietary quality for deer in summer exposed to cattle suggested th
at cattle can facilitate growth of early successional plant species in
pine habitats.