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ABSTRACT Remote telemetry data loggers are commonly used for monitoring wildlife species. Although remote telemetry data loggers provide reliable microhabitat use data, few studies have used them to evaluate landscape-scale, temporal, and spatial habitat use. We installed 3 data loggers along a mountain ridgeline that was being developed for a commercial wind farm in northern New Hampshire, USA, to monitor use of a high-elevation forest by American martens ( Martes americana). We tested 1) the efficacy of data loggers to record presence-absence and index space use in a 6.75-km2 area, validating marten locations using radiotelemetry and camera traps; and 2) whether there were diel and seasonal biases of data logger detections. As a case study, we evaluated temporal and spatial habitat-use hypotheses with respect to variations in vegetation cover (leaf-on or leaf-off) and astronomical seasons using data from 11 martens monitored for nearly 2 years (6 Feb 2011-23 Dec 2012). Data loggers recorded presence-absence of radiocollared martens across 80% (240 of 299) of the trials within the study area with few false positives (4%; 19 of 494 trials). Detection probability and spatial use were most influenced by elevation, distance to data loggers, and line-of-sight view. We did not detect a seasonal bias but data loggers recorded fewer nocturnal detections. We recorded 118,120 detections of radiocollared martens, most of which occurred during leaf-off seasons (87%; 102,931). Spatial use declined significantly (β = −0.54, P = 0.04) during the first leaf-on season, corresponding with the construction phase of the wind farm project, and remained lower throughout the study. Diel use was explained by an astronomical calendar with greater nocturnal use during autumn and winter. Our results show that remote telemetry data loggers provided accurate spatiotemporal data for landscape-scale habitat monitoring, overcoming many of the problems with telemetry data-such as limited sampling period and bias-that can compromise measurements of space use. We suggest incorporating remote telemetry data loggers for space use and disturbance studies of wildlife species. © 2016 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Effective management of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) populations requires reliable estimates of demographic parameters. New Hampshire's deer population has increased substantially since the 1980s, while recruitment rates based on indices from harvested deer have steadily declined since the mid-1990s. To better understand the reasons for such decline, we assessed the current reproductive attributes of New Hampshire's deer herd through measurement of ovulation rate, pregnancy rate, and fetal counts from winter mortalities during 2011-2013 and compared these data with similar data collected in New Hampshire, USA, during 1972-1987. Pregnancy rates were 97% and 100% in the adult and yearling age classes, respectively, but few (8%) fawns bred. All pregnant fawns carried single fetuses, while yearlings averaged 1.72 fetuses and adults 1.95. Peak breeding for adults and yearlings occurred during the third week of November; fawns bred 4 weeks later. Pregnancy rate and fecundity of older deer were unchanged since the 1980s; fawn pregnancy rate declined but was always relatively low. Productivity of the population increased due to a greater proportion of adults in 2011-2013, suggesting that declining recruitment may be due to increased summer fawn mortality. Additional research is needed to provide more accurate estimates of recruitment and to identify the specific causes of summer fawn mortality; however, in New Hampshire and other northern deer populations limited by severe winters, lower recruitment rates may render local population goals unachievable. © 2015 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]