Throughout nature you will find an infinite amount of connections between different organisms. I've decided to make these interesting, and often unexpected, interactions the focus of this blog.
Today's topic is Red Maple (Acer rubrum) and White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
The locations in which Red Maple can be found extends from forests, stream banks, and swamps to fields, valleys, and dry ridges. It is one of the most abundant and widespread trees in North America and can be found in areas that have been clear-cut in the past. The White-tailed Deer used Red Maple as both a food source and a form of shelter. The twigs of the young Red Maple trees are reddish with white lenticels that have small red, rounded buds that White-tailed Deer feed upon. This food source is highly desirable by deer and it has been shown in studies that deer are aware of the trade-offs between the different energy concentrations of their food sources. The current seasons growth is an important source of food, especially in the winter, because it can affect reproduction and litter size, body condition, and winter survival when other important food sources may be scarce. The winter is also the mating season for deer.
Red Maple seedlings are negatively affected by being a popular food source for deer because this may affect their survival rate by causing the young seedling to become stunted or deformed. In areas where there are excessive deer populations, the reproduction of Red Maple is almost completely suppressed. This frequent browsing of Red Maple may result in a significant change in the composition of forests in an area.
White-tailed Deer aren't the only suspect in the case of over-browsed Red Maple seedlings - Snowshoe Hares are another culprit for the same crime. You can easily tell the different between a Red Maple bud that has been browsed by a Snowshoe Hare or White-tailed Deer because the hare clips the stems clean and the deer break or tear the stems so they appear jagged.
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