Food Preferences of Deer in Louisiana Coastal Marshes
Food preferences were determined for white-tailed deer (Odcoileus viginianus) in marshes and spoil arreas along the Louisiana coast by using feeding trials with captive deer and browse surveys. Fifty species were offered to 3 deer during the feeding trials. The species selected in largest amounts were Leploch/oa fascicularis, Scirpus olneyi, Iva annua, Echinochloa walteri, and Aeschynomene virginica. Preferred food plants during the browse surveys along marsh levees were Paspalum vaginatum, Mikania scandens, Bocapa monnieri, Panicum dichotomiflorum, and Leptochloa fascicularis.
