. The Canadian field-naturalist. 1985 HODGMAN AND BOWYER: USE OF LICHENS BY WHITE-TAILED DEER 315 Table 2. Dry weight biomass(g) of Evernia mesomorpha in plots on tree boles above ( m) and within ( m) the reach of White-tailed Deer in central Maine, March-May 1984. /*= significance level from Mann-Whitney U-lest comparing plots above and within deer reach. N m P m Species X SD Range X SD Range Abies balsamea 15 < < 0-<! Acer rubrum 27 Betula papvrifera 3 0 0
. The Canadian field-naturalist. 1985 HODGMAN AND BOWYER: USE OF LICHENS BY WHITE-TAILED DEER 315 Table 2. Dry weight biomass(g) of Evernia mesomorpha in plots on tree boles above ( m) and within ( m) the reach of White-tailed Deer in central Maine, March-May 1984. /*= significance level from Mann-Whitney U-lest comparing plots above and within deer reach. N m P m Species X SD Range X SD Range Abies balsamea 15 < < 0-<! Acer rubrum 27 Betula papvrifera 3 0 0 Betula populifolia 5 Larix laricina 2 0 0 0 0 Picea glauca 28 Pinus strobus 21 Discussion A marked "browse line" on arboreal lichens, signif- icantly more lichens immediately above than within the reach of deer, and substantial use of lichens at feeding stations all suggest these epiphytes are an important winter forage of White-tailed deer in Maine. Significantly more Usnea than Evernia was available to deer. Further, significant differences occurred in the amount of Usnea above and within deer reach; this was not the case for Evernia. The 100-1. 24MAR-5APR 6APR 18APR 19APR 30APR 1MAY~13MAY (N = 3) (N = 7) (N=6) (N=6) Figure 1. Percent removal of arboreal lichens from feeding stations by White-tailed Deer from late March through mid-May 1984, Unity, Maine. relative scarcity o{Evernia on trees may have been one reason for its infrequent use by deer; no significant difference in percent removal between Usnea and Evernia occurred at feeding stations where both were readily available. The percent occurrence of dendric lichens on tree boles tends to increase with the age of the stand (Lang et al. 1980); old-growth forests typically are used for winter shelter by White-tailed Deer in northern lati- tudes (Crawford
Size: 1524px × 1639px
Photo credit: © Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorottawafieldnaturalistsclub, bookcentury1900, bookcolle
