Diet diversity of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in a tropical dry forest in Mexico

Abstract

We report on diversity in the diet of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in a Mexican tropical dry forest. Diet was estimated using the microhistological analysis of plant epidermis in deer pellet-groups. The sampling was from 1993 to 1994. From the rainy to dry season, the richness and diversity of the families and species in the diet increased and botanical composition changed. Deer selected 82 plant species from 20 families; however, 12 species represented 50% of the annual diet. Flowers and fruits of arboreal species were important during the dry season, as were young leaves of shrub and vine species during the rainy season. Despite the small size of white-tailed deer in this tropical dry forest study area, foraging strategies there were similar to those observed in temperate forests.