Tag: Savannah River Site

Targeted Deer Removal Can Reduce Deer-Vehicle Collisions

by Ivan Garcia, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
Deer-vehicle collisions are common, dangerous, and costly examples of human-wildlife conflict in the U.S. Targeted removal (sharpshooting) of deer that linger on the side of the road has proven effective in reducing such conflict in urban areas. USDA Forest Service research wildlife biologist John Kilgo, along with collaborators, tested this strategy in a secure, wooded…  More 

Diets of Nestling Red-Headed Woodpeckers

by Megan Bequette, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
The red-headed woodpecker has enjoyed better days. Over the past five decades, the species has suffered sharp declines in the northern and western parts of its range. While that much is clear, the role of their diets in the declines is not. A recent USDA Forest Service study observed the diets of nestling woodpeckers to…  More 

Species Selection for Woody Biomass Production

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
In the southeastern U.S., short-rotation woody crops are a significant part of a growing renewable energy supply. A USDA Forest Service study examines how growing different tree species for bioenergy may have impacts on water yield. “Loblolly pine has long been considered the go-to woody bioenergy species in the South,” says Peter Caldwell, research hydrologist…  More 

Immigration and Reproduction Complicate Coyote Control Programs

by Jennifer Moore Myers and Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Coyotes arrived in the Southeast relatively recently. “Beginning in the early 20th century, coyotes started moving eastward,” says John Kilgo, a research biologist with the U.S. Forest Service. “But they weren’t recorded in South Carolina until the late 1970s.” From an evolutionary perspective, they’ve been incredibly successful. They have become quite common in the Southeast.…  More 

Protecting White-Tailed Deer Fawns

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Wild animals are often immersed in a mortal struggle. For white-tailed deer fawns, the struggle entails hiding from predators like coyotes. “Fawns are highly vulnerable to coyote predation,” says John Kilgo. Kilgo is a research wildlife biologist at the U.S. Forest Service, and he recently coauthored a study about coyotes, fawns, and land cover. Coyotes…  More