FECAL INDICATORS, DIET, AND POPULATION PARAMETERS IN MULE DEER

Fecal nitrogen (FN) and diaminopimelic acid (FDAPA) have been proposed as indicators of diet quality and nutritional condition in ruminants; however, their relation to animal population parameters is untested. I related FN and FDAPA in fecal pellets collected on seasonal ranges o f migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) during 1984-89 and 1993-94 to precipitation, forage growth, measures of deer condition and repro duction, and deer population size. Annual precipitation and growth of bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), an important forage, varied, and wer e related to diet composition and several deer population parameters. Total and eviscerated carcass mass, kidney-fat index (KFI), litter siz e, and fetal mass varied among years. Fecal nitrogen and FDAPA varied seasonally and annually but were less closely related to deer populati on parameters than was growth of bitterbrush. Deer population size var ied greatly and was negatively correlated with, but explained only sma ll proportions of, the variation in maternal and fetal mass. Fecal nit rogen and FDAPA were poor predictors of population parameters.