Deer University – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

Deer University

Dr. Jacob Dykes & Dr. Eric Michel

Science

Education

Frequency: 1 episode/32d. Total Eps: 105

The Deer University podcast focuses on deer biology and management, featuring Drs. Jacob Dykes and Eric Michel, co-directors of the Mississippi State University Deer Lab. As hunters, deer biologists, and wildlife professors, they're passionate about bridging the gap between research and management. In each episode, they discuss the latest deer research from around the country, breaking it down to show how it can improve wildlife and habitat management on your land. Whether you're a hunter, a land steward, or simply interested in deer biology, Deer University is for you. Hosts of Deer University: Dr. Jacob Dykes, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Management, Mississippi State University Extension Service Dr. Eric Michel, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Management, Mississippi State University Forest and Wildlife Research Center

Read moreCollapse

Site

RSS

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

No recent rankings available

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.

See all

RSS feed quality and score

Technical evaluation of the podcast's RSS feed quality and structure.

See all

RSS feed quality

To improve

Score global : 53%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

Recent episodes with titles, durations, and descriptions.

See all

The Rut

Season 1 · Episode 91

Friday, November 14, 2025 • Duration 44:31

Jacob and Eric catch up to discuss the rut. They cover everything from what triggers the rut to phases of the rut, changes in buck behavior, and hunting strategies.

Check out the MSU Deer Lab's online seminar series (here) and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits.

Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

Read moreCollapse

Episode 090 - Arkansas Chronic Wasting Disease Deer Study

Season 1 · Episode 90

Friday, October 3, 2025 • Duration 01:38:08

Jacob and Eric sit down with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Research Division Chief, Cory Gray and Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Dr. Marcelo Jorge to discuss the results of their 5-year project evaluating the effects of CWD in Arkansas.

Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

Read moreCollapse

Episode 081 - Lunar Table Fables - Does the Moon Affect Buck Activiy?

Season 1 · Episode 81

Friday, November 15, 2024 • Duration 01:59:20

Natasha Neary, Luke Resop, Steve Demarais, and Bronson Strickland delve into the relationships between moon phases, positions, and their potential effects on buck movement and bedding behavior. They review their research findings from a complex and exhaustive analysis of GPS-collared bucks to determine if moon phase and/or position has any relationship with buck movement behaviors. They emphasize the importance of accounting for individual buck personalities and behaviors during the rut and highlight the challenges in drawing definitive conclusions. The discussion also includes insights from a survey of hunters to gauge beliefs and expectations of the moon's role in stimulating buck movement, and the implications of various lunar theories. The conversation highlights the complexity of deer behavior and the importance of data-driven insights to understand these patterns.

Check out the MSU Deer Lab's online seminar series (here) and choose the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop down menu. You will have to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits.

Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

Read moreCollapse

Episode 080 - Buck Antler Size and Landscape Context

Episode 80

Friday, September 20, 2024 • Duration 41:43

In this third episode with Dr. Mark Turner, we discuss Mark's research exploring the factors that contribute to the variation in population-level buck antler size. He explains that deer tend to be larger in areas further north due to heat retention and dissipation. He also highlights the importance of landscape characteristics, such as row crop agriculture, in influencing deer size. Additionally, he emphasizes the significance of managing forage availability on individual properties, including improving early successional plant communities and implementing holistic food plotting approaches. Overall, the key takeaways are the importance of considering the context of a property within the larger landscape, the potential for incremental improvements in deer management, and the need to manage both habitat and deer density to optimize deer quality.

Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

Takeaways

Deer tend to be larger in areas further north due to heat retention and dissipation.

Row crop agriculture and early successional plant communities are positively associated with deer size.

Managing forage availability on individual properties can lead to significant improvements in deer quality.

Improving early successional plant communities and implementing holistic food plotting approaches are effective strategies for increasing forage availability.

Managing both habitat and deer density is crucial for optimizing deer quality.

Episode 079 - Estimating nutrient requirements for deer

Episode 79

Friday, August 23, 2024 • Duration 38:55

In this episode, Dr. Mark Turner discusses his research on the nutrient requirements of deer and the availability of native plants to fulfill those requirements. He sampled common deer forages throughout the Eastern US and found that only 44% of the forages sampled met the minimum crude protein requirement, and only 19% met the minimum phosphorus requirement. This highlights the importance of providing a diverse range of forage options for deer. Mark also emphasizes the need to consider both the amount and quality of forage when estimating nutritional carrying capacity. He suggests that landowners consider incorporating native plants into their management strategies and diversify their food plots to provide a more balanced diet for deer. And Steve may have rambled a little too.

Takeaways

Providing a diverse range of forage options is important for meeting the nutrient requirements of deer.

Only 44% of the forages sampled met the minimum crude protein requirement, and only 19% met the minimum phosphorus requirement.

Estimating nutritional carrying capacity requires considering both the amount and quality of forage available.

Incorporating native plants into management strategies can help provide a more balanced diet for deer.

Diversifying food plots can also contribute to meeting the nutritional needs of deer.

Sound Bites

"Diversify your habitat and then let them do their job"

"Deer have pretty high phosphorus requirements and a lot of the plants are not meeting that requirement"

"Deer develop an aversion to forages that are very high in nutrients they already have"

Episode 078 – Predicting Antler Size from Doe Body Weight

Episode 78

Tuesday, July 30, 2024 • Duration 41:42

In this conversation, Bronson, Steve, and Mark Turner discuss the relationship between doe body weight and buck antler size. Mark's research at the University of Tennessee aimed to evaluate how deer body and antler size varied across the eastern US and what habitat characteristics were associated with bigger deer. The results showed a consistent relationship between doe body weight and buck antler size, with an 8.5-inch increase in antler size for every 10-pound increase in doe body mass. This relationship provides a predictive equation that can help property managers and hunters assess and improve buck antler size by focusing on increasing doe body weight. The conversation also includes topics like harvest bias, compositional bias, and monitoring techniques.

Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

Takeaways:

There is a consistent relationship between doe body weight and adult buck antler size, with an 8.5-inch increase in antler size for every 10-pound increase in doe body weight.

Increasing doe body weight can lead to larger buck antler size, providing a predictive equation for property managers and hunters to assess and improve antler size.

Harvest bias and compositional bias can affect the accuracy of data collected on deer populations, and monitoring techniques should account for these biases.

Understanding the relationship between doe body weight and buck antler size can help property managers and hunters make informed decisions about deer management and habitat improvement.

Further research is needed to explore the variation in doe body weight and antler size across different regions and climates.

Episode 077 - Your Summer To-Do List

Episode 77

Wednesday, May 22, 2024 • Duration 54:44

In this conversation, Bronson and Steve discuss various topics related to deer management during the summertime. They start by addressing recent concerns about hunters contracting CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) from consuming deer with CWD and emphasize the importance of following public health guidelines and not eating venison from CWD-positive deer. They then move on to discuss deer management tasks for the summer, including getting soil tests and adjusting pH for food plots, moving hunting blinds off food plots to reduce disturbance, controlling ryegrass in food plots, and using prescribed fire for habitat management. They highlight the benefits of burning during the growing season and the importance of providing high-quality forage for deer. Bronson and Steve emphasize the importance of analyzing harvest data and deer observations to make informed decisions about deer population and harvest strategies. Additionally, they discuss the benefits of forest management, improving road access, and diversifying food sources. The conversation concludes with a reminder to start planning larger-scale projects, such as timber harvest, well in advance.

Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

Read moreCollapse

Episode 076 - Buck Food Plot Use During the Hunting Season

Episode 76

Wednesday, April 10, 2024 • Duration 01:12:26

In this episode we visit with Dr. Natasha Ellison to review her findings relative to buck use of food plots during the hunting season. How often are bucks visiting food plots pre-rut, peak-rut, and post-rut? When are bucks spending more time on food plots? How does hunting pressure affect these relationships? Natasha is a Mathematical Ecologist and is helping the MSU Deer Lab dig deeper in the buck movement dataset to answer questions about buck behavior relevant to hunters and managers.

Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

Read moreCollapse

Episode 075 - Pulling the Covers Off Buck Beds

Episode 75

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 • Duration 01:19:30

In this episode we visit with Luke Resop to discuss buck beds and bedding areas. How often are they bedding? What's their affinity to certain bedding areas? What's the circuit time for returning to a bedding area? Day beds and night beds are all discussed. We also introduce our newest member to the MSU Deer Lab, Dr. Natasha Ellison. She is a Mathematical Ecologist and is helping us dig deeper in the buck movement dataset to answer questions about buck behavior relevant to hunters and managers.

Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

Read moreCollapse

Episode 074 – Understanding Buck Movement – Part 2

Episode 74

Friday, January 12, 2024 • Duration 54:02

The latest Extension publication from the MSU Deer Lab is "Understanding Buck Movement: How, When, and Why Bucks Navigate the Landscape" is now available for viewing and download. You can find the publication here:

https://www.msudeer.msstate.edu/results.php?q=deer%20movement

In Part 2, Steve and Bronson discuss more of the findings presented in the publication and explain how you can interpret the data and use the information for management and hunting.

Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

Read moreCollapse

Deer University – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Deer University – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other44

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other44

Youtube3

Instagram4