Detecting Deer: New Method For Counting Population In U...( colonial times in eastern Missouri; exc...)

colonial times in eastern Missouri; excessive deer prohibits the flourishing of other fauna and flora species to achieve this goal. The surviving deer also tend to eat all available plants, including plants that botanists grow for research. Thus, researchers cannot conduct effective study and analysis of plants.

Sexton and his colleagues chose helicopters and snow cover as the best method for the deer census over a number of other tried, though not always proven, methods. Among them are: spotlight counts; deer drive counts; mark and recapture efforts; deer track counts; and counts with thermal infrared sensors attached to aircraft.

Sexton considers the survey to be the centerpiece of a national model for other urban and suburban areas to accurately determine deer numbers and monitor herd size.

"Of all the options, using helicopters over snow cover is the most efficient and cost-effective, especially for the terrain at Tyson, which is 90 percent oak-hickory forest," Sexton said. "This is a typical rural, and in some cases suburban, habitat found in the lower Midwest, much of the East and a portion of the South. We believe many areas in the United States will benefit from performing a census the way we have."

By Tony Fitzpatrick

'"/>

Contact: Tony Fitzpatrick
p72245tf@wuvmd.wustl.edu
(314) 935-5272
Washington University in St. Louis
2-Jul-1998

Page: 1 2 3 4
Related biology news :

1. Detecting chemical threats with intelligent networks
2. Detecting bacteria in space: The good, the bad and the unknown
3. Taking the pulse of giants: Detecting change and its consequences in western mountain ecosystems
4. Reagent Strips Not Sufficient In Detecting Bacteriuria In Early Pregnancy
5. Method to visualize gene activity may provide insight into normal development & genome function
6. Method produces uniform, self-assembled nanocells
7. Newer methods added, scope expanded in new Methods of Soil Analysis Book
8. Method quickly surveys yeast genome by gene function, not sequence
9. Scientists identify key risk factor for canine arthritis: Method may eventually give humans similar warning
10. Researchers Track Path Of Safer Gene Delivery Method
11. New Cell Isolation Method Will Aid In Studying Tumor Development