We report on diversity in the diet of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in a Mexican tropical dry forest. Diet was estimated using the microhistological analysis of plant epidermis in deer pellet-groups. The sampling was from 1993 to 1994. From the rainy to dry season, the richness and diversity of the families and species in the diet increased and botanical composition changed. Deer selected 82 plant species from 20 families; however, 12 species represented 50% of the annual diet. Flowers and fruits of arboreal species were important during the dry season, as were young leaves of shrub and vine species during the rainy season. Despite the small size of white-tailed deer in this tropical dry forest study area, foraging strategies there were similar to those observed in temperate forests.

Cuniculus paca está ampliamente distribuido en el Neotrópico. El tepezcuintle o paca es el roedor más grande que se encuentra en las selvas tropicales de México. En cuanto a la cacería de subsistencia es una de las especies más buscadas por su carne. Como se desconoce el impacto de esta actividad, se describe el aprovechamiento que le dan las comunidades humanas en el Parque Estatal de la Sierra de Tabasco (PEST). También, se determinaron zonas de muestreo, las cuales se encontraban en una matriz perturbada en menor o mayor grado, con diferentes tipos de uso de suelo. Además, se consideraron zonas conservadas por la presencia continua de grandes extensiones de selvas fragmentadas y las zonas no conservadas por tener fragmentos menores de selvas y estar más aisladas. Para conocer el aprovechamiento que se le da al tepezcuintle se realizaron 176 encuestas a campesinos o pobladores del PEST mayores de 18 años. El 100% de las personas encuestadas dijo conocer al tepezcuintle y haberlo consumido. La sequía fue la época en que significativamente se le observó más en la selva. Las formas de obtención del tepezcuintle que prevalecen son la cacería y el trampeo en contraste con la donación y la compra. Por otro lado, también utilizan armas de fuego y perros para su cacería. Consecuentemente, se estimó que las personas entrevistadas cazaron un total de 488 tepezcuintles en el año. Cuniculus paca is widely distributed throughout the Neotropics. Known as the paca, it is the largest rodent in the Mexican tropical forests, and one of the most used as a subsistence species for its meat. Since colonial times, this species has been subject of an unreported hunting pressure. For this reason, the aim of this work was to describe the use of the paca by the inhabitants of the Sierra de Tabasco State Park (STSP) using sampling areas in a matrix of vegetation with different degrees of disturbance, and different types of land use. We included both preserved areas: owing to the presence of large continuous areas of fragmented rainforest and areas that are not preserved, with smaller rainforest fragments and more isolated. To obtain information about paca use, we interviewed 176 people (>18 years old) who live in the STSP. All those interviewed had eaten paca meat, and indicated that this species is most frequently observed in the rainforest during the dry season. Hunting and trapping were the most common ways to obtain pacas, rather than gifting or purchasing, and firearms and dogs are used to hunt them. We estimated that these interviewed group had hunted a total of 488 paca in the year prior to the study.

Habitat use by mule deer was studied in the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve in the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico. The deer population in this area is distributed among isolated hills and sierra. Because of their similar soil and vegetation characteristics, these hills are a homogeneous element of the landscape. This study was carried out within this element, in order to understand the habitat variables that are important for deer in the selection of habitat. Univariate as well as multivariate analytical methods were used in a complementary fashion to identify habitat variables associated with habitat selection during wet and dry seasons. The univariate method detected a relationship between habitat use and variation in slope (measurements of unevenness in terrain), in both seasons, it also detected a relationship between habitat use and the distance to water in the dry season. The multivariate method detected higher use of sites with greater unevenness in the terrain, higher shrub diversity, greater visibility and that were closer to water sources. Unevenness in terrain seems to be the most important factor influencing habitat selection by mule deer. This factor is limited to isolated hills and sierra in this part of the Chihuahuan Desert, so it is a spatially well defined resource. Such areas should be considered as a high-priority for the conservation of this species.