Effect of Hurricane Andrew on Survival and Movements of White-Tailed Deer in the Everglades

Abstract

Movements and survival of 32 radiomarked white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus seminolus) were studied in the wet prairie of Everglades National Park (ENP) and Big Cypress National Preserve (BCNP) before and after the passage of Hurricane Andrew, a storm with sustained winds of 242 km/hr that bisected the study area on 24 August 1992. All radiomarked deer survived the hurricane. However, the hurricane, which struck during rut, appeared to reduce conception rates or fetus and fawn survival, or both, as evidenced by a 13-fold decrease in fawn production in 1993. Home range sizes, measured during January-March, did not differ (P > 0.05) among the years 1991, 1992 (prehurricane), and 1993 (posthurricane). Strong site fidelity in the wake of Hurricane Andrew was evidenced by the lack of difference (P > 0.05) in the distances between home range centers in prehurricane years (1991-92) and in pre- and posthurricane years (1992-93). Multiple response permutation procedure (MRPP) analyses revealed that although many deer altered (P < 0.05) their home range use distributions between 1992 (prehurricane) and 1993 (posthurricane), these changes were consistent with those observed in the same deer between 1991 and 1992 (prehurricane years). In the absence of extraordinary or prolonged rainfall, hurricanes appear not to exert direct detrimental effects on deer populations in the interior marshes of the Everglades, but they may depress productivity for an annual cycle.