Impacts of a Severe Hailstorm on a White-Tailed Deer Population in East-Central Alabama

IF 0.6 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Southeastern Naturalist Pub Date : 2023-09-08 DOI:10.1656/058.022.0310

Tristan J. Swartout, Matthew T. McDonough, S. Ditchkoff

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract - Hailstorms capable of producing damaging hail ≥2.5 cm in size are rare but can have a significant impact on wildlife, with mortality events well documented with avian species. However, there is still a poor understanding of the impacts damaging hail can have on ungulate survival. We had a unique case study, when a hailstorm produced hailstones up to ∼7 cm in diameter in the area of Camp Hill, AL, and the nearby Auburn Captive Deer Facility (ACF) on 26 March 2023. With the ACF being completely enclosed with fencing, we were able to conduct extensive surveys for mortality cases of Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer) shortly after the hailstorm. We detected no cases of mortality attributed to the storm. We speculate that no mortality occurred due to the ACF containing mature forests with adequate overstory that provided structural cover for deer from hailstone strikes. Further examination of the literature found that a substantial proportion of hail-induced mortality has occurred in agricultural areas, wetlands, and grasslands where there was limited to no canopy cover. This result may suggest that deer inhabiting forested regions are at less risk from hailstorms compared to conspecifics inhabiting open habitat.

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严重冰雹对阿拉巴马州中东部白尾鹿种群的影响

能够产生破坏性冰雹≥2.5 cm的冰雹是罕见的，但对野生动物有重大影响，鸟类的死亡事件有充分的记录。然而，人们对破坏性冰雹对有蹄类动物生存的影响仍然知之甚少。我们有一个独特的案例研究，当2023年3月26日，一场冰雹在坎普希尔地区，AL和附近的奥本圈养鹿设施(ACF)产生了直径高达7厘米的冰雹。由于ACF被围栏完全封闭，我们能够在冰雹后不久对白尾鹿的死亡率进行广泛的调查。我们没有发现暴风雨造成死亡的病例。我们推测，由于ACF含有成熟的森林，有足够的覆盖层，为鹿群提供了结构性的掩护，因此没有发生死亡。对文献的进一步研究发现，冰雹导致的死亡有很大一部分发生在农业地区、湿地和草原，这些地区几乎没有冠层覆盖。这一结果可能表明，与居住在开阔栖息地的同类动物相比，居住在森林地区的鹿受到冰雹的风险更小。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Southeastern Naturalist 环境科学-生态学

CiteScore

1.20

自引率

16.70%

发文量

审稿时长

18-36 weeks

期刊介绍： The Southeastern Naturalist covers all aspects of the natural history sciences of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine organisms and the environments of the southeastern portion of North America, roughly bounded from North Carolina south to Florida, west to Texas, north to Oklahoma, and east back to North Carolina. Manuscripts based on field studies outside of this region that provide information on species within this region may be considered at the Editor’s discretion.