TRACK COUNT CALIBRATION TO ESTIMATE DENSITY OF WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) IN MEXICAN DRY TROPICAL FOREST

Track counting is a quick, easy, cost-effective technique to estimate the population density of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). By employing the double-count procedure, I generated 2 models in which track counts were calibrated to estimate the density of deer in dry tropical forest in Chamela on the Mexican Pacific Coast. For both models, I calibrated a track index using density obtained from the line-transect method as a reference. The first model was based on simple linear regression and the second on the strip-transect method. I discuss the usefulness of these models for monitoring local populations as well as possible applications in other regions.