Blood urea nitrogen levels of white-tailed deer as an index of condition and nutritional intake

Abstract

The classical objective of wildlife managers is to provide the public with the maximum number of hours of outdoor recreation by means of the wildlife resource without impairing that resource for future use. A biologist is continually concerned with the deterioration of wildlife populations and habitats. However, to evaluate populations and habitats from quantitative view is not sufficient; the quality or condition must also be evaluated if managers are to achieve their long-run objective. Any technique that would assist biologists in both quantitative and qualitative evaluations could further elucidate ecological nutritional relationships and could help assure that neither wildlife populations nor habitat would be seriously impaired for future use.