The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation relies on the active participation of citizen hunters to achieve management goals. One factor that motivates hunters to become active participants is an opportunity to harvest a mature white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with large antlers, especially the case for achievement-oriented wildlife recreationists. Variation in antler conformation and size among white-tailed deer is noticeable across landscapes. Moreover, when mapped, there is obvious spatial heterogeneity in the harvests of record deer (e.g., deer with large antlers that qualify for entry in the Boone and Crockett records) across the United States, with the majority of entries coming from the Midwestern region. This dissertation should engage the interests of wildlife biologists and researchers. Chapter 1 focuses on testing hypotheses about harvest outcomes for antler point restrictions in the state of Michigan. Chapter 2 evaluates spatially explicit trends in antler sizes of record deer across the Midwestern United States. Chapter 3 evaluates the degree to which management regulations influenced the harvest of record deer in the Midwest United States. Chapter 4 focuses on potential issues related to reporting bias and proposes an adaptation of N-mixture models to account for imperfect detection. Findings from this research include: 1) the importance of spatial context when evaluating trends in harvest data across a large geographic region; 2) antler point restrictions do indeed protect yearling males from harvest and advance the age structure of male harvest; 3) implementing antler point restrictions did not increase antlerless harvest or change the trajectory in hunter numbers; 4) antler sizes of record deer in the Midwest showed increasing trends; 5) harvests of record deer were greater in areas with management regulations that restricted the buck harvest; 6) more record deer were reported when at least 1 record deer was reported the previous year; 7) detection of harvests of record deer do not follow any spatial or temporal pattern.As interest in quality deer management and harvesting adult males with large antlers increases, it is important for wildlife managers and hunters to understand how regulations can influence harvests of record deer. My work offers insights into the relationships between management strategies and harvest outcomes. This research provides managers important information about factors affecting harvests of record deer, outcomes of management regulations, and inherent differences in record deer harvests and characteristics among ecoregions. Managers can draw on the insights gained from this dissertation research during the decision-making process when setting annual hunting regulations, as well as communicating reasonable expectations for deer populations to hunters and other interested stakeholder groups.
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