ANTLER RUBS BY WHITE-TAILED DEER - THE IMPORTANCE OF TREES IN A PRAIRIE ENVIRONMENT

Antler rubs (scent marks) by male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virgin ianus) (n = 84) were characterized from 1 to 20 October 1993 on the No rthern Plains Biological Field Station at Oak Lake, Brookings County, South Dakota. The northern Great Plains is characterized by low specie s richness and trees that often have aromatic properties and are confi ned to draws and riparian areas. Consequently, we hypothesized that th e selection of trees for antler rubs by deer in prairie environments w ould differ from that in other regions of North America. Eight species of trees were rubbed. Juneberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) and chokecher ry (Prunus virginiana) were selected, whereas green ash (Fraxinus penn sylvanica), fleshy hawthorn (Crataegus succulenta), boxelder (Acer neg undo), and wild plum (Prunus americana) were avoided. From the availab le trees (($) over bar x = 1.8 cm), deer selected larger diameter tree s (($) over bar x = 2.3 cm) for antler rubs. Height of first branch ab ove the ground was greater for trees used for antler rubs (($) over ba r x = 69.9 cm) than for random trees (($) over bar x = 40.9 cm). Deer selected aromatic species of trees for scent marking and avoided those species with thorns. We hypothesize that recent changes in the distri bution of trees in prairie environments have facilitated expansion of the range of white-tailed deer in the northern Great Plains.