Estimating 24-h Habitat Use Patterns of White-Tailed Deer from Diurnal Use

We compared diurnal and 24-h habitat use patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota from 1 January to 20 December 1993. Deer were sampled during two periods, diurnal (i.e. 0800 to 1959 h) and 24-h to determine if 24-h habitat use could be estimated from diurnal use patterns at the population level. No differences between diurnal and 24-h use were detected (P=0·101) during winter, spring, summer, or fall, indicating that 24-h habitat use could be estimated (r2=0·95,P<0.001) from diurnal patterns when habitats were combined even during periods of intense unpredicted human disturbance (i.e. fall hunting with approx. 12 hunters/km2).