Frequency Distributions of Mule Deer Fecal Group Counts
Bowden DC, Anderson AE, Medin DE. 1969. Frequency Distributions of Mule Deer Fecal Group Counts. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 33(4):895-905
The Poisson, Neyman type A, negative binomial, and the Thomas distributions were fitted to the frequency distributions of the number of fecal groups per plot for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) counted on a systematic sample of 960, 100 ft^2, and 1,687, 43.6 ft^2, circular plots on two diverse Colorado habitats sampled over two seasons. The three latter distributions represented fecal-group data equally well. However, there was a consistent appearance of one or two high frequencies with very small probability of occurrence under the three distributions regardless of plot size, sampling intensity, habitat, or season of fecal-group deposition. Fecal-group densities were too low to distinguish between the three distributions, but the negative binomial offered the simplest explanation of the data, and appropriate standard errors and confidence limits may be readily computed. The two following modes of deer behavior (or a combination of the two) could give rise to any of the three distributions: (1) deer wandering at random over the sampled area in groups of various sizes, and (2) single deer wandering at random within homogeneous blocks of land but a different mean rate for each block.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Bowden, David; Anderson, Allen; Medin, Deean
- Units
- BIBE
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Census, frequency distributions, Mammal, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus - Artiodactyla - Cervidae), Pellets (Fecal)