Deer Crucial to Snakes Salamanders and Insects

First posted on 10-27-2008

According to a study by Ohio State University researchers, reducing deer populations in parks and forests could actually have a negative impact on insect and amphibian populations in those areas.

The researchers studied several species of snakes, salamanders and invertebrates, discovering that higher concentrations of these animals could be found in areas of denser deer populations than in places where there was no deer activity.

“By just reducing the number of deer in the forest, we’re actually indirectly impacting forest ecosystems without even knowing the possible effects,” said Katherine Greenwald, co-author of the study and doctoral student in evolution, ecology, and organismal biology at Ohio State.

The results were a surprise to scientists who felt that higher deer populations would consume low lying plants thereby destroying the habitat of these other animals.

But the study may indicate that deer droppings are creating a soil richer in nutrients, attracting insects and other invertebrates, which leads to the migration of predators like salamanders that consume insect larvae. The arrival of salamanders attracts snakes and the cycle continues.

“Smaller creatures like salamanders and insects are all part of the base of a larger food web that can be affected by small changes,” Greenwald said.

This study comes as many states try to selectively control deer populations and it challenges earlier studies that suggest larger deer populations adversely affected forest ecosystems because deer consumed plants crucial to the system.

“We need to be aware of what’s happening in these forest ecosystems,” Greenwald said. “Culling deer may cascade into affecting plants, salamanders, and other creatures in ways we can’t even imagine. So before we start removing deer we should study what’s really happening in these areas because there are a whole host of other issues that go along with culling.”

The results of the study were published in The Journal of Wildlife Management.