Selection of Sites for Winter Night Beds by White-tailed Deer in a Hemlock-Northern Hardwood Forest

Abstract

Environmental factors influencing selection of sites for winter night beds by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were evaluated in an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) northern hardwood forest in western Maryland. Sixty-two microhabitat variables were sampled at 140 bed sites to characterize vegetation structure and cover. Microhabitat variables at bed sites were compared to 100 random sites to determine factors involved in site selection. Principal components analysis (PCA) of the random sites using variables important in night-bed selection resulted in four PCs that defined a four-dimensional PC space upon which the microhabitats of the 140 bed sites were plotted. Night beds were characterized by more coniferous cover directly above the bed, a greater frequency of eastern hemlock trees N and W of the bed, an open southeastern exposure, a low minimum distance to the nearest tree and a high spatial heterogeneity of trees.