Reproductive Patterns, Productivity And Genetic Variability In Adjacent White-Tailed Deer Populations

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were collected from swamp and upland areas on the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina; the genetic variability of females was 9.8 and 8.5%, respectively, for the 2 areas. Reproductive rates (92-93 fawns/ 100 females) were essentially the same in the 2 areas. Deer in both populations, age> 2 yr, bred earlier and showed less variance in conception dates than younger deer, and swamp deer bred earlier than upland deer. In the swamp. deer with 2 fetuses had significantly higher levels of genetic variability than those with I fetus, and the trend although not significant was the same in the uplands.