Resource-area-dependence analysis of desert mule deer habitats in the San Andres Mountains, New Mexico, USA

Abstract

Desert mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus eremicus) populations throughout the arid Southwestern USA and Mexico have declined; hence, it is important to identify habitats that provide for their requirements to inform habitat management. We used resource-area-dependence analysis (RADA), which relates home range size to composition of home ranges, to determine habitats most associated with decreasing home range sizes (i.e., increasing quality) for adult male and female mule deer in the San Andres Mountains (SAM) of south-central New Mexico, USA. Pinyon-juniper woodland and oak-mountain mahogany shrubland were the habitats most associated with home range quality for both lactating and dry females, likely because they provided the highest quantity and diversity of browse and the best cover attributes of habitat types in the SAM. Grama grassland was the only habitat associated with male home range size; despite the lack of cover, grama grassland provided more forbs than other habitats in the SAM, and males are less tied to cover than females. Management actions that increase diversity and retard successional status of woodlands and shrublands while retaining cover could increase habitat quality for female mule deer. Actions that favor forbs and increase cover in grasslands would similarly increase habitat quality for males.