Paul E. Johns

The Wildlife Conservation Workshop was developed by the South Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society to provide K-12 teachers with hands on experiences and research results related to wildlife management. Because education programs such as this workshop generally have limited resources, prioritization of curriculum improvement efforts is essential. This paper demonstrates how to improve an on-going program based on open-ended critiques.

Data were taken on 1,103 pregnant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) harvested from the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina from 1965-1985 to describe temporal, age specific, and habitat effects on fetal number. Time periods were thought to represent periods of high and low population density. Age was the most significant factor in altering fetal number both with and without the data from the fawns included. Low fetal numbers per doe in 0.5- and 1.5-year-old deer and a high incidence of twinning in the older deer was responsible for this effect. Mean number of fetuses per doe...

Data were taken from 3,721 male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) harvested from the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina for the years 1977 to 1982 to document the incidence of spike bucks relative to habitat differences, harvest methodology, body weight, condition, and genetic variability. Of the 1.5-year-old bucks harvested, 33.1% had spike antlers. The incidence of spike or non-spike antlers was significantly correlated with age (r =0.29) and body weight (r =0.37). Significant differences in the incidence of spike bucks were observed between swamp and upland habitat types....

Percent body fat was estimated from the Kidney Fat Index for 1,726 male, white-tailed deer from the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina for the years 1974 through 1978. There was a significant decrease in percent body fat from September through December in all animals ≥2.5 years. Percent fat in fawns increased significantly from September through December. Fat levels in 1.5-year-old animals did not show a general trend for either an increase or decrease from September through December. However, the lowest percent fats were consistently observed in November for all but the 0.5-year-old...

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (N = 1341) were collected from 7 locations in Georgia and South Carolina. Sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) activity was analyzed using starch-gel electrophoresis. Four types of prenatal selection, Female Gametic Selection, Random Mating, Male Reproductive Selection and Female Sexual Selection, were analyzed for this locus using genotype frequency data including mothers and offspring. Spatial and temporal heterog;eneity were analyzed for the Savannah River Plant (SRP) herd. Pooled genotype frequencies for SDH were essentially the same over 3 years but...