Species Composition of Deer Diets on the NFWU

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc.

Species Composition of Deer Diets on the NFWU


Log In \| Register My Profile \| Log Out

White-Tailed Deer:
Their Foods & Management in the Cross Timbers

Table of Contents & Preface
Introduction

Habitat requirements
   General concepts
   Food requirements
         Methods used to gather data
         Overall use of forage classes
         Seasonal use of forages
         Specific seasonal deer diets
               Spring
               Summer
               Fall
               Winter
               Summary
   Cover requirements
   Water requirements
   Space requirements

Habitat management
   General concepts
   Food management
   Cover management
   Water management
   Space management

Population health/evaluation
   Introduction & aging deer
   Body size & antler characteristics
   Fat deposits
   Reproductive success

Population management
   Introduction
   Population inventory
         Harvest records
         Deer surveys
   Population regulation
         Potential mng't goals

Conclusion/additional info

References

Appendix A:
Plants of the NFWU

Appendix B:
Deer diets on the NFWU

Appendix C:
Pictures and descriptions of
important deer food plants in the
Cross Timbers region

Glossary for Appendix C

Appendix B Species Composition of Deer Diets on the Noble Foundation Wildlife Unit
		% Frequency in diet
Species or plant complex^a	Common name	Summer 1985	Fall 1985	Winter 1985-86	Spring 1986	Summer 1986	Fall 1986	Winter 1986-87	Spring 1987
Acalypha spp. complex	Three-seeded mercuries	7	1.6	0.7	0	20.1	4.1	1.5	0
Acalypha virginica	Three-seeded mercury	0.2	0	0	0.8	1.9	0.2	0.1	0.9
Acer negundo	Box elder	2.1	0.3	0.2	4.2	0.8	0	0	4.7
Agalinis fasciculata	Beach agalinus	0	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Amaranthus spp. complex	Pigweeds	0	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Ambrosia artemisiifolia	Common ragweed	0.1	0	0	10.9	0	0	0	0
Ambrosia bidentata	Lanceleaf ragweed	0.8	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Ambrosia psilostachya	Western ragweed	0.1	0.6	0.3	0	0.7	0	tr	0
Ambrosia spp. complex	Ragweeds	1	0	0	0	tr	0	0	10.5
Ambrosia trifida	Giant ragweed	2.7	0	0	0	0.6	0	0	0
Amorpha fruticosa	False indigo	1.2	0	0	0	0.2	0	0	0
Ampelopsis arborea	Pepper vine	0	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Amphicarpa bracteata	Hog peanut	0.3	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Andropogon spp. complex	Bluestems	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	0	0
Andropogon virginicus	Broom sedge bluestem	0	0	0	0	0.2	0	0	0
Antennaria parlinii- Gnaphalium spp. complex	Plainleaf pussytoes- cudweeds complex	0	0.6	6.6	0	0	0	0	0.6
Antennaria parlinii	Plainleaf pussytoes	0	0	3.5	0	0	4.4	4.2	0
Apocynum cannabinum	Indian hemp	0	0	0	0	0.3	0	0	0
Asclepias spp. complex	Milkweeds	0	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Asclepias viridis- A. asperula complex	Antelope horn milkweeds	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Aster ericoides	Heath aster	0	0.1	0.2	0	0	0	0	0
Aster spp. complex	Asters	0.5	0	0.1	0.6	0.1	0	0	0.2
		% Frequency in diet
Species or plant complex^a	Common name	Summer 1985	Fall 1985	Winter 1985-86	Spring 1986	Summer 1986	Fall 1986	Winter 1986-87	Spring 1987
Bidens aristosa	Coreopsis beggar-ticks	0.3	0	0	0.1	1	0	0	0
Bidens bipinnata	Spanish needles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.2
Brachiaria platyphylla	Broadleaf signal grass	0	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Bromus spp. complex	Bromes	0	0.9	5.9	0	tr	6.6	25.1	0
Bumelia lanuginosa	Chittamwood	0.1	0	0	0	0	0.4	0.1	0.5
Callirhoe involucrata	Purple poppy mallow	0	0	0	0.4	0	2.4	0.1	2.9
Campsis radicans	Trumpet vine	0.1	0	0	0	0.4	0	0	0
Carex spp. complex	Sedges	0	0	0.1	0	0	tr	0.2	0
Carya spp. complex	Hickories/pecans	0	0	0.1	0	0	0	0	0
Cassia fasciculata- C. nictitans complex	Partridge pea- sensitive pea complex	4.1	0	0	0	1.5	0	0	0
Celtis spp. complex	Hackberries	0.2	0.6	0.1	0	0.2	0	0	0
Cephalanthus occidentalis	Buttonbush	0	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cerastium glomeratum	Clammy chickweed	0	0	0	3.2	0	0.2	0.1	3
Cercis canadensis	Redbud	0.1	0	0	0	0.2	0	0	0
Chenopodium album	Lamb’s-quarters	0.1	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Chrysopsis pilosa	Softhair golden aster	0.7	0	0	0	0.6	0	0	0
Cocculus carolinus	Carolina snail-seed	0.7	0.2	0	16.2	1.1	0.7	0	19.2
Commelina spp. complex	Dayflowers	0	0	0	0	tr	0	0.8	0
Conyza canadensis	Horseweed	4.8	0	0	0	2.2	0.4	0	0
Cornus drummondii	Rough-leaved dogwood	0.8	0	0	0	2.1	0	0.4	0
Cornus florida	Flowering dogwood	0.6	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Cornus spp. complex	Dogwoods	4.3	0.1	0	1.5	tr	0.6	0	2.1
		% Frequency in diet
Species or plant complex^a	Common name	Summer 1985	Fall 1985	Winter 1985-86	Spring 1986	Summer 1986	Fall 1986	Winter 1986-87	Spring 1987
Crataegus spp. complex	Hawthorns	0	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Crataegus viridis	Green hawthorn	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Croton glandulosus	Tropic croton	5.8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Croton monanthogynus	One-seeded croton	6.7	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Croton spp. complex	Crotons	0.6	0.8	0	0	5.9	0.1	0.1	0
Cyperus esculentus	Yellow nut grass	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.2	0
Cyperus spp. complex	Flat sedges	0	0	0	0.2	0	0	0	0
Daucus pusillus	Southwestern carrot	0	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Desmodium ciliare	Tick trefoil	0	0	0	0	0.2	0	0	0
Desmodium paniculatum	Panicled tick clover	0	0.2	0	0	1.3	0	0	0
Desmodium sessilifolium	Sessile tick clover	0.1	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Desmodium spp. complex	Tick clovers	13.6	0.1	0	0.1	16.7	0.8	0	0
Dichanthelium spp. complex	Dichantheliums	0	0	1	0	0	0.2	0.8	0
Digitaria sanguinalis	Hairy crabgrass	0	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Diospyros virginiana	Persimmon
(all)		0.3	0.5	0	0	0	0.1	0	0
(fruit)		0	0.4	0	0	0	0	0	0
		% Frequency in diet
Species or plant complex^a	Common name	Summer 1985	Fall 1985	Winter 1985-86	Spring 1986	Summer 1986	Fall 1986	Winter 1986-87	Spring 1987
Eclipta prostrata	Yerba de tajo	2	0	0	0	2.9	0	0	0
Elephantopus carolinianus	Elephant’s foot	0	0.3	0	0	0.3	0	0	0
Elymus spp. complex	Wild ryes	0	0	0.4	0	0	tr	0	0
Eragrostis curvula	Weeping love grass	0	0	0	0	0	0.4	1.6	0
Erigeron strigosus	Daisy fleabane	0	0	0	0.8	0	0	0	0.5
Eriochloa contracta	Prairie cup grass	0	0	0	0	0.7	0.7	0	0
Eupatorium rugosum	White snakeroot	0	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Euphorbia maculata	Spotted euphorbia	0.2	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Festuca arundinacea	Tall fescue	0.1	1.9	10.8	0	0.1	2.8	7.8	0
Fraxinus pennsylvanica	Green ash	0	0.1	0.1	0	0.1	0	0	0
Galactia regularis	Downy milk pea	0.2	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Galium spp. complex	Bedstraws	2.5	0.3	0	0	1.1	0.1	0	0.3
Gaura spp. complex	Gauras	0	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Geranium carolinianum	Carolina cranesbill	0	0.1	0.8	9.8	0.8	0.5	0.1	4.2
Geum canadense	White avens	0	0	0.3	0	0.3	1.6	tr	0
Gleditsia triacanthos	Honey locust
(all)		0.2	0	8	0	tr	2	0.1	0
(seed pods)		0	0	8	0	tr	2	0.1	0
Glinus lotoides	Glinus	0.1	0	0	0.4	tr	0	0	0.2
Gutierrezia dracunculoides	Common broomweed	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		% Frequency in diet
Species or plant complex^a	Common name	Summer 1985	Fall 1985	Winter 1985-86	Spring 1986	Summer 1986	Fall 1986	Winter 1986-87	Spring 1987
Heliotropium indicum	India heliotrope	0	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hypericum hypericoides	Saint-Andrew’s-cross	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	0	0
Ilex decidua	Deciduous holly	0.1	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ipomoea spp. complex	Morning glories	0	0.1	0	0	0.2	0	0.1	0
Iresine rhizomatosa	Bloodleaf	0	0	0	0	0.3	tr	0	0
Juniperus virginiana	Eastern red cedar	0	0.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lactuca sativa	Prickly lettuce	0	0	0	0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0
Lamium amplexicaule	Henbit	0	0	0.7	0	0	0	0.7	0
Lespedeza cuneata	Sericea lespedeza	0	0.1	0.1	0	0	0	0	0
Lespedeza spp. complex	Lespedezas	3.6	0	0	0.1	0.8	0.4	0	0
Lespedeza stipulacea	Korean clover	0	0	0	0	1.8	0	0	0
Lespedeza striata	Japanese clover	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
Lespedeza virginica	Slender lespedeza	0	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Ludwigia alternifolia	Bushy seedbox	0.9	0	0	0	0.3	0	0	0
		% Frequency in diet
Species or plant complex^a	Common name	Summer 1985	Fall 1985	Winter 1985-86	Spring 1986	Summer 1986	Fall 1986	Winter 1986-87	Spring 1987
Maclura pomifera	Osage orange
(all)		0.7	0.9	0.4	11.1	2.1	17.3	12.6	9.7
(fruit)		0.1	0.9	0.4	0	0	0	0.1	0
Medicago orbicularis	Button clover	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.1
Melilotus spp. complex	Sweet clovers	0.3	0	0.2	16.5	1.8	1.2	0	1.8
Monarda russeliana	Red-spotted horsemint	0.1	0	0.1	0	tr	0	0	0
Morus rubra	Red mulberry	0.2	0.3	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Neptunia lutea	Yellow neptunia	0	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Nyssa sylvatica	Black gum	0	0	0	0.4	0.3	0.1	tr	0.4
Oxalis dillenii	Yellow wood sorrel	0.1	0.9	0	0	1	0.1	0	0
Passiflora incarnata	Maypop passionflower
(all)		0.2	0	0	0	0.4	0	0	0
(fruit)		0	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Phyla incisa	Sawtooth frogfruit	0	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Physalis viscosa	Field ground-cherry	0	0	0	0	0.1	0.1	0	0
Phytolacca americana (berries)	Pokeweed	0	0	0	0	0.9	0	0	0
Podophyllum peltatum	Mayapple	0.3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Polygonum spp. complex	Smartweeds	4.4	0.2	0	0.1	0.2	0	0	0
Prunus angustifolia- P. mexicana- P. rivularis complex	Plums	0.9	0.6	0.1	0.4	1.6	0.1	0.1	0.3
Psoralea tenuiflora	Wild alfalfa	0	0	0	0.1	0.1	tr	0	0.4
		% Frequency in diet
Species or plant complex^a	Common name	Summer 1985	Fall 1985	Winter 1985-86	Spring 1986	Summer 1986	Fall 1986	Winter 1986-87	Spring 1987
Quercus shumardii (acorns)	Shumard’s oak	0	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Quercus spp. complex	Oaks
(all)		1.8	46.2	16.6	2.9	1.3	5.8	4.2	4.2
(acorns)		0	41.8	16.5	0	0	1.5	0	0
Quercus stellata (acorns)	Post oak	0	0.4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rhus aromatica	Fragrant sumac
(all)		3.7	0	0.1	4	0.4	0.5	0.4	2.5
(fruit)		0	0	0	0.2	0	0	0	2.5
Rhus copallina	Winged sumac	1	0.2	0	0	0.7	0	0	0
Rhus glabra (fruit)	Smooth sumac	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.4	0
Rhus spp.-Toxicodendron radicans complex	Sumacs-poison ivy complex	0.1	1.9	1.5	0	0.7	0	0	9.2
Rubus spp. complex	Dewberries, blackberries	0	0.7	0	0	0.5	0	0	0
Rumex crispus	Curly dock	0	0	0.1	0	0	tr	0	0
Salix nigra	Black willow	0	0	0	0	0.3	0	tr	0
Sambucus canadensis	Elderberry	0	0	0	0	0	0.5	0	0
Sanicula canadensis	Canada sanicula	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sapindus drummondii	Soapberry	0	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Secale cereale	Rye	0	0	0	0	0.2	0.8	0.4	0
Secale cereale-Triticum aestivum complex	Rye-wheat complex	0	0.2	21.5	0	0	0	0	0
Smilax spp. complex	Greenbriers	0.5	0.1	1.3	0	0.5	4.3	1	0
Smilax tamnoides	Bristly greenbrier	0	0.3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Solidago spp. complex	Goldenrods	0	0	0	0	0	tr	0	0
Sorghum bicolor (seed)	Sorghum	0	1	0	0	0	2.6	0.1	0
Sorghum halepense	Johnson grass
(all)		0	0	0	0	0.8	0	0	0
(seed)		0	0	0	0	0.7	0	0	0
Sporobolus spp. complex	Dropseeds	0	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Stellaria media	Common chickweed	0	0	0	0.3	0	0	1.6	0.7
Strophostyles helvola	Wild bean	0	0	0	0	0.3	0	0	0
Strophostyles leiosperma	Smooth seed wild bean	0	0	0	0	1.9	0	0	0
Strophostyles spp. complex	Wild beans	7.8	0.1	0	3.8	4.9	0.1	0	2.6
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus	Coralberry
(all)		1.3	21.2	10.8	0	0.5	24.3	31.3	0
(fruit)		0	13.3	5	0	0	3.9	14.9	0
		% Frequency in diet
Species or plant complex^a	Common name	Summer 1985	Fall 1985	Winter 1985-86	Spring 1986	Summer 1986	Fall 1986	Winter 1986-87	Spring 1987
Torilis arvensis	Hedge parsley	0	0	0.1	0	0	0	0.9	3.6
Toxicodendron radicans	Poison ivy	0	0	0	0	0.5	0	0	0
Tragia bentonicifolia	Nettleleaf	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Trifolium campestre- T. dubium complex	Hop clovers	0.1	0	1.5	0	0	0	0	0
Trifolium repens	White clover	0	0.1	2.2	0	0	0.4	0.1	2.1
Trifolium vesiculosum	Arrowleaf clover	0.2	0	0.6	0	tr	0	0	0
Triodanis perfoliata	Clasping Venus’s looking-glass	0	0	0	0	tr	0	0	0
Triticum aestivum	Wheat	0	0	0	0	tr	0.6	1.4	0
Ulmus alata	Winged elm	0	0	0	2.4	tr	0	0	0.3
Ulmus americana	American elm	0	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Verbena canadensis	Rose vervain	0	0	0	0.8	tr	0	0	0
Verbena spp. complex	Vervains	0.1	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Verbena urticifolia	White vervain	0	0	0	0	2.2	0	tr	2.8
Verbesina alternifolia	Yellow ironweed	0.4	1.1	0	0	0.9	0	0	0
Verbesina helianthoides- V. virginica complex	Crownbeards	0.1	0	0	3.8	0	0.2	0	0
Viburnum rufidulum	Rusty black haw	0	0	0.1	0	0.1	0	0	0
Vicia sativa	Narrowleaf vetch	0	0	0	0	0	3.9	0	0
Vicia spp. complex	Vetches	0	0.1	0.1	1.1	tr	0	tr	4.3
Viola pubescens	Downy yellow violet	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Viola spp. complex	Violets	0.4	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0
Vitis spp. complex	Grapes	0.1	0	0	3.1	0.1	0	0	4.2
Xanthium strumarium	Cocklebur	0	0	0	0	0.4	0	0	0
	Ferns and allies	0	0.1	0	0	0	0.4	0.1	0
	Mushrooms	0	3.8	0.1	0	0.2	4.7	1.1	0
	Unknown grasses	0	2.3	0.3	0	0	0	0	0
	Unknowns	4.1	6.9	2.9	0	1.6	2.1	0	0

^a Amounts are reported for plant complexes when species differentiation could not be made. Percent frequencies reported earlier in the text are totals for all members of a complex.

Previous: Appendix A-Plants of NFWU (text)

Next: Appendix C-Deer Food Plants