DO PELLET COUNTS INDEX WHITE-TAILED DEER NUMBERS AND POPULATION-CHANGE

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) pellet groups were counted in the 839-km2 Bearville Study Area in northcentral Minnesota during spring 1982-86. Neither abundance of pellet groups nor extrapolated deer density was significantly correlated (r2 < 0.21, P > 0.43) with annual population estimates derived f rom aerial surveys. Extrapolation of pellet counts (assumed defecation rate = 33 groups/day) resulted in annual estimates of deer density 0.4-1.5 times estimates from aerial surveys. Pellet count data suggested the mean annual finite rate of change (lambda) was 0.94 (90% CI = 0.89-0.99), higher than that documented by aerial surveys (0.79) or a demographic model (0.84). The use of pellet groups to index deer numbers or population change is limited.