Solving White Tailed Deer With Hunting And Sterilization

Samantha Shields 952673863 ENGL 030 001 Dr. Aaron Mauro 3 December 2014 Solving White-Tailed Deer Overabundance With Hunting and Sterilization In the past few decades, white-tailed deer populations in North America have increased drastically. Due to some relief in predation—in correlation with changes in the environment—deer populations in many zones meet or exceed 10 deer per square kilometer, which is a much higher ratio than in the 1960’s and 1970’s (Cà ´tà © 116). With an overabundance of deer, many problems arise; the diversity and success of habitats decline, agriculture suffers, more deer-vehicle collisions occur, and quite a few more issues appear. In order to maintain a healthy number of deer and reduce these issues, deer populations†¦show more content†¦An abundance of deer initially seems to indicate healthy habitats and flourishing wildlife; however, overabundance actually leads to severe problems for ecosystems. One of the reasons deer populations have been able to grow so exponentially is because many forested suburban areas allow for deer habitats with low risk of predation (Boulanger 174). In correlation with their suburban living, overpopulated deer end up crossing more roads and highways, posing as more pressing issues towards automobiles and trains and causing more frequent collisions. Next, and quite obviously, overabundance creates overcrowding in habitats. Less apparent, however, is the idea that with increased browsing of new tree seedlings, overpopulated deer decrease species diversity in forests and reduce tree growth, which leads to a lack of protection from erosion and floods (Cà ´tà © 117). Deer also forage selectively, meaning certain species of plant will be eaten more frequently than others, often resulting in less diversity, ground coverage, and competition between plants (Cà ´tà © 124). This, in turn, makes ecosystems less suitable to other species, in particular the foliage. Steeve Cà ´tà © quotes Hobbs and Paine, who explain, â€Å"By affecting compet itive interactions among plants with varying levels of chemical defenses and by altering successional trajectories, deer alter ecosystem processes that include energy transfer, soil development, and