Using Citizen Science to Record Deer Populations in Kalamazoo, Michigan Neighborhoods

Abstract

Odocoileus virginianus or white tailed deer is a very common species in the state of Michigan. In the early 20th century this population was very low, but with the help of wildlife managers numbers recovered to the point where there is now an overabundance. An overabundance of deer in an area has both ecological and economic impacts. When there is an overabundance of deer in area they put browsing pressures on the plants and can even eliminate certain species from an area. Economically, an overabundance of deer raises the likelihood of deer related car accidents and can also cause indirect health issues by providing a host for ticks which cause lyme disease when they bite a human. To understand these impacts a rough population count is needed and when in an urban setting it is much more difficult to do studies as there is a lot of private land. That is where citizen science comes into play, as the citizens are enlisted to help you obtain the data needed.