Soil Resources Area Affects Herbivore Health

James A. Garner, H. Anwar Ahmad and Chad M. Dacus
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James A. Garner: Department of Biology, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS 39269, USA
H. Anwar Ahmad: Biostatistical Support Unit, Department of Biology, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS 39217, USA
Chad M. Dacus: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, 1505 Eastover Drive, Jackson, MS 39211, USA

IJERPH, 2011, vol. 8, issue 6, 1-9

Abstract: Soil productivity effects nutritive quality of food plants, growth of humans and animals, and reproductive health of domestic animals. Game-range surveys sometimes poorly explained variations in wildlife populations, but classification of survey data by major soil types improved effectiveness. Our study evaluates possible health effects of lower condition and reproductive rates for wild populations of Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman (white-tailed deer) in some physiographic regions of Mississippi. We analyzed condition and reproductive data for 2400 female deer from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks herd health evaluations from 1991–1998. We evaluated age, body mass (Mass), kidney mass, kidney fat mass, number of corpora lutea (CL) and fetuses, as well as fetal ages. Region affected kidney fat index (KFI), which is a body condition index, and numbers of fetuses of adults ( P ≤ 0.001). Region affected numbers of CL of adults ( P ≤ 0.002). Mass and conception date (CD) were affected ( P ≤ 0.001) by region which interacted significantly with age for Mass ( P ≤ 0.001) and CD ( P

Keywords: body mass; corpora lutea; fetus; kidney fat index; Mississippi; Odocoileus virginianus; physiographic region; soil productivity; white-tailed deer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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