Conclusion
Our results show that survival rates vary by capture method for up to
3-months of age for white-tailed deer neonates. Additionally, even
though there was some consistency amongst competing models among
candidate sets analyzed by capture method (i.e., VIT only,
opportunistic, and combined VIT and opportunistic captures), top models
differed. Our interpretation of ecological covariates also differed
amongst models, albeit interpretation did not vary as drastically as for
Gilbert et al. (2014). Regardless, our results suggest that mortality
varies by three time intervals and therefore, models aimed to describe
the relationship between ecological covariates and survival should be
assessed by these time periods, particularly for models describing
survival <2 weeks of age. Survival rates derived from neonate
white-tailed deer captured opportunistically should also be adjusted
downward by ~10-25%. Finally, although forest is
limiting in a prairie landscape, percent canopy cover is important as it
likely provides cover from inclement precipitation events, which can
negatively affect neonate survival up to 6-months of age.