• Jenks, Jonathan A.
  University of Maine Graduate School
  

Synergistic relationships among important winter forages used by white-tailed deer (Ocidocileus virginianus borealis) in Maine were examined with passage rate estimates and in vitro digestions. Eight captive white tailed deer fawns were maintained on winter diets from 15 January to 31 March 1985 to determine passage rate of digestion. Diets were formulated containing equal parts of white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), balsam fir (Abies Balsamea), eastern hemlock (Isuga canadensis), and mixed spruce (Picea spp.) diets also contained lichen component (Usnea spp. and Evernia mesomorphia) of 0, 5, 15, and 25%. Four trials were conducted with 4 deer per trial.