Master of Science Candidate

STUDENT BACKGROUND

My name is Ryan Darr.  I spent my young life in Columbus, Texas and graduated from Columbus High School in 2003.  Soon after, I started my higher education at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas and then transferred to Texas A&M University-Kingsville.  I graduated from Texas A&M-Kingsville in the Fall of 2007 then started a master’s project as a continuation of my undergraduate research with stable isotopes.  When I find time away from research and school, I enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking and birding among many other outdoor activities.

THESIS PROJECT

Effects of Forage Enhancement on White-Tailed Deer Selectivity and Productivity

 Forage enhancement can be defined as the intentional or accidental provision of a dietary supplement to wildlife.  Humans may unnaturally increase white-tailed deer numbers and cause deer to selectively consume higher quality vegetation by supplying enhanced forages.  This increased productivity and selectivity often results in habitat destruction throughout the ecosystems inhabited by deer. 

My research uses the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to assess the effects of supplemental feeds on deer selectivity and productivity.  I will first develop an isotopic 2-source mixing model that will allow me to determine the proportion of supplemental feed to natural vegetation in an individual deer’s diet.  This model will be coupled with a bite count technique to define how the proportion of supplemental feed consumed relates to the quality of vegetation used by deer.   I will finally relate the proportions of supplemental feed consumed by female deer to productivity defined by body condition and seasonal surveys.

Stable isotopes will allow me to explain the extent of environmental harm that may be caused when humans artificially manipulate the feeding habits of white-tailed deer.