A recent article on Meateater.com highlighted deer fawn survival research conducted in Delaware in a part of the state with almost no predators to see what kills deer fawns in the absence of predators. Turns out nutrition is a huge factor in whether a fawn lives or dies, and predators take advantage of weakness that may be due to a lack of good nutrition. Justin Dion is the biologist who conducted that research, and he now works for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. We pulled Justin Dion and ODFW carnivore biologist Derek Broman in for a conversation about how research like the deer fawn study goes from field work to wildlife management practice and the value of building up different career experiences like that for wildlife biologists.
