NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Ecology of the Carmen Mountains White-Tailed Deer

This research was sponsored by the Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation, Sinton, Texas. We acknowledge gratefully the support of the late Dr. C. Cottam and Foundation Director W. C. Glazener. Additional funding was provided by the Caesar Kleberg Foundation for Wildlife Conservation through Texas A & M University, College Station and by the Big Bend Natural History Association, Big Bend National Park, Texas. Research and housing facilities were provided by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Without the assistance of many people the project would not have been possible. Among the National Park Service personnel who contributed to the project, particular appreciation is extended to Joe Carithers, Superintendent of Big Bend National Park; Roland Wauer, Chief Scientist for the Southwest Region; William Rabenstein, former Chief Park Naturalist; and Al Trulock, Chief Park Ranger. Each provided ideas, suggestions, encouragement, and cooperation in our research efforts. Information and field assistance were provided by Cecil Garrett, Mark Igo, Sammy Burdick, Bill Burke, George Halworth, Dan Jenner, Caroline Wilson, Dave Easterla, James Chambers, Mack Walters, and Frank Grano. A note of thanks is expressed for Dave Krouskop's help with spotlighting and other field activities. Additional assistance was provided by Linda Cooper, Ruth Garrett, Dorothy Trulock, Dave Easterla, Jr., Todd Easterla, Mark, Mike, and Sandy Rabenstein, and Lee Rutlidge.

Don Atkinson, Texas A & M University, assisted with field work, and provided a base for much of the research.

Doctors Syd Radinousky, Millersville State College, Pennsylvania Arnold Van Pelt, Greensboro College, North Carolina; and James Scudday, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas, contributed useful information and ideas. Ernest Krausman assisted with vegetational sampling. Dr. Barton Warnock, Sul Ross State University, verified plant collections. Curtis McGinnis and Saul Duenar, Hewlett Packard, were responsible for several data summaries.

Doctors Jack Thornton, Texas A & M University, Eric Stauber, University of Idaho, and Robert Bartsch, Washington State University, Pullman, examined and identified biological samples.

Roy McBride, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, assisted with scat identification and analysis and contributed ideas and suggestions relating to deer distribution and predator—prey relationships. Individuals who provided access to private land and extended hospitality during visits include land managers Gill Youngdoff, Fred Sheley, Odie Roberts, James Barbee, and Manuel Enricque B.

Skull collections were enhanced by cranial specimens from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, and the Bird and Mammal Laboratories of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., through the cooperation of Dr. William Z. Lidicker, Jr., and Dr. Robert D. Fisher, respectively.

Typing was done by Carole Allen and Kathy McArthur. Illustrations were made by Trudy Peek.

This report is a revised version of the main section of a doctoral dissertation by Paul R. Krausman accepted by the University of Idaho in 1976. Ernest D. Ables, dissertation chairman, assisted with the revision and some of the field work, but the first person singular is retained in the few places it appears. Doctors James G. Teer, Fritz R. Walther, and Fred E. Smeins of Texas A & M University, and Drs. Ernest Ables, Maurice Hornocker, Minoru Hironaka, James G. Peek, and Frederick D. Johnson of the University of Idaho provided ideas and suggestions for this study. The senior author appreciates the effort spent in his training by these scientists and the suggestions made to improve this publication.

A special note of thanks is extended to Dr. John A. Bissonette, Oklahoma State University, for his friendship and valuable assistance provided during all aspects of the research. His contributions provided much of the reported information.

Krausman's tour in Big Bend National Park was enjoyed by his wife, Carol, and children, Curtis and Julie; their encouragement during the preparation of the manuscript is irreplaceable. To them the monograph is dedicated.

To these people and institutions, and others who assisted in this research effort—many thanks.

PAUL R. KRAUSMAN
ERNEST D. ABLES