Draft #1: Florida Key Deer...The even-toed ungulate

This discussion topic submitted by Joe Moorehead ( jmoorehead@fuse.net) at 8:27 pm on 3/30/01. Additions were last made on Saturday, May 4, 2002.

The discussion on Florida Key deer will focus on theories of their origin and isolation in the southern U.S. as an endemic subspecies. Deer of the order Artiodactyl (even-toed) are commonly found throughout North America, but the Key deer has a limited latitudinal range as opposed to the close relatives of White-tailed deer found further north. Descriptions of even and odd-toed ungulates will reinforce the evolutionary importance of having 1,2,3, or 4 keratinized toes.
The topic was chosen because of an avid interest in and experience with the biological characteristics of deer in the Miami Valley.

I. Evolutionary History of Ungulates
a. Artiodactyla in N. America
b. Even vs. odd-toed ungulates
II. Anatomical Characteristics
a. size
b. teeth
III. Physiological Characteristics
a. digestive system
b. sensory
IV. Behavioral Characteristics
a. reproduction
b. feeding
c. socialization
V. Historical and Present Status of Key deer
a. conservation

References

Geist, V., and F. Walther, eds. 1974. The behavior of ungulates and its relation to management. Internat. Union Conserv. Nature and Natural Resources Publ., n.s., no. 24, 2 vols.

Hickman, Roberts, Larson. 1997. Integrated Principles of Zoology; pgs. 602, 607, 616, 623, 702, 705.

Janis, C.M. 1989. A climatic explanation for patterns of evolutionary diversity in ungulate mammals. Paleontology 32: 463-481.

Prescott, Harley, Klein. 1993. Microbiology, 2nd ed. pgs. 568-571.

Prothero, D.R., and R.M. Schoch, eds. 1989. The evolution of perissodactyls. Oxford Univ. Pr., New York. 537 pp. QE882.U6E96. 1989.

Putnam, R. 1988. The natural history of the deer. Comstock Publ. Assoc., Cornell Univ. Pr., Ithaca. 191 pp. QL737.U55P87 1989.

Smith, Robert L. 1996. Ecology and Field Biology, 5th ed. pgs. 109-112, 125-127, 179, 472.

Van Soest, P.J. 1994. Nutritional ecology of the ruminant, 2nd ed. Comstock Publ. Assoc., Cornell Univ. Pr., Ithaca. 476 pp. SF95.V36 1994

Vrba, E.S., and G.B. Schaller, eds. 2000. Antelopes, deer, and relatives: fossil record, behavioral ecology, systematics, and conservation. Yale Univ. Pr., New Haven. 341 pp. QL737.U5 A64 2000


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It is 10:55:59 PM on Sunday, May 11, 2008. Last Update: Saturday, May 4, 2002