Influences of movement behavior and space use in evaluating disease risk among white-tailed deer in central New York

I studied the space use and resource selection patterns of white-tailed deer as part of a larger study aimed at developing a risk assessment for disease management in New York. I collected >100,000 GPS locations from 71 animals and used this high-resolution data set to identify the spatial distribution of risk of disease spread on the landscape.;I investigated the influences of capture and handling on post-capture movement rates of GPS-collared deer. I hypothesized that capture myopathy (CM) negatively influenced movement rates, and that all deer would exhibit lower movement rates for a period of time post-capture as they recovered from capture and acclimated to collars. Movement rates declined precipitously post-capture among CM deer. For animals that did not die from CM, movement rates deviated negatively from normal for 14 days post-capture. Movement simulations revealed that inclusion of GPS locations taken during this 2-week period are likely to bias analyses when data sets are small. These findings suggest that researchers evaluate the impact of capture on data sets prior to conducting movement analyses to avoid biased results.;I evaluated the role of landscape composition and configuration in predicting deer home range sizes. I hypothesized that home ranges are composed of essential resources important to deer and that configuration of these resources are good predictors of home range area. Home range area was composed of more forest, but equal amounts of agriculture and rangeland compared with availability. Landscape configuration metrics specific to fragmentation were good predictors of total home range area. These findings support the relationship between animal space use and the configuration of essential resources on the landscape.;I explored fine-scale resource selection behavior of deer to identify areas of high relative probability of use by males and females in different seasons. I found evidence of sexual segregation among deer in all seasons but winter. Model performance was strongest for winter female data sets and offers promising results for predicting high relative probability of use areas by deer where disease is located. I posit that these data can be used to direct disease management activities like disease surveillance and population reduction.;Key Words. white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus ), capture myopathy, post-capture movement rates, landscape composition and configuration, home range area, resource selection function, relative probability of use.