Legal harvest and predation of North American cervids mediated by anthropogenic development

Predation and legal harvest are primary sources of cervid (family Cervidae) mortality. Extrinsic (e.g., human development) and intrinsic (e.g., sex, age) characteristics influence cervid mortality risk. Predicated on existing literature, we predicted that adult, slower-reproducing, and male cervids on landscapes with legal harvest and greater human development would experience more anthropogenic mortality and less natural mortality. We tested our predictions using a publicly available meta-analytical database of studies published during 1970–2021 that summarizes cause-specific mortality reported in telemetry studies of caribou (Rangifer tarandus), elk (Cervus canadensis), moose (Alces alces), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and white-tailed deer (O. virginianus). We tested the influence of age class, generation length, proportion of males monitored, harvest legality, and human footprint index (HFI) on percentage of cervid mortality due to anthropogenic (i.e., legal harvest, illegal harvest, non-harvest anthropogenic) and natural (i.e., predation, non-predation natural) sources. Our predictions were largely supported as adult, male, and slower-reproducing cervids experienced greater anthropogenic mortality, while juvenile, female, and shorter-lived cervids experienced greater predation. Illegal and non-harvest anthropogenic mortality sources were, however, similar in areas with and without legal harvest. The influence of HFI was species-specific, but predation generally decreased as HFI increased. Our results are indicative of the direct (i.e., harvest) and indirect (i.e., HFI) influence humans have on demographic-specific cervid mortality, which supports the need for well-regulated species-specific harvest in North America including greater harvest in developed landscapes where predation is a lesser source of mortality.