Advances

(Advances gives a glimpse of the many significant research projects at the university. Tell us about your discoveries by e-mailing: wisweek@news.wisc.edu.)

Deer feeding: Risky practice
Increased winter feeding of deer in Wisconsin and other states may pose significant risks to the environment and to animal and human health, according to a university biologist.

While feeding deer during harsh winter months may seem like an act of kindness, it upsets natural population control by mitigating the effects of a difficult winter on the deer herd, says Don Waller, a professor of botany.

For nearly a decade, Waller has documented the effects of Wisconsin’s booming deer population on tree regeneration, plant diversity and natural communities overall. He has found that overbrowsing by deer has all but eliminated some plant and tree species once common to the state’s northern regions.

Waller says the accelerating trend of deer feeding, whether at backyard feeders or deep-woods stations and winter deer yards, not only exacerbates the growing environmental problems associated with deer overabundance, but it poses health risks to humans and animals as new diseases emerge in U.S. deer and elk herds.

Chronic wasting disease, similar to mad cow disease, has been documented in some elk and deer herds.

In Wisconsin, there are no limits on feeding deer, but a Department of Natural Resources committee on baiting and feeding is considering the issue and proposals to limit the activity.

“There’s no doubt feeding activity is increasing,” Waller says. “We like to think we’re doing something good for the animals, but we have to concern ourselves with whether or not feeding deer is contributing to other, larger problems.”

Political ads: Bad is good
The huge, high-stakes investment in political advertising just got some interesting news from a university researcher: Candidate-sponsored ads, even negative ones, have a healthier effect on American democracy and voting participation than soft-money issue ads.

This finding comes right after a watershed event in American political history. In the 2000 election, for the first time ever, spending for issue ads exceeded that of candidate ads.

Michael Pfau, professor of journalism and mass communication, analyzed the effect of ads on Wisconsin voter awareness, interest and participation in the 1998 and 2000 elections. The ads were run during races for Congress, the presidency and the Wisconsin Senate.

In the 1998 and 2000 elections, both kinds of candidate-sponsored ads enhanced voter awareness, interest in campaigns, knowledge of candidates, and likelihood of voting more than issue ads did. In fact, in the 2000 election, the issue ads reduced knowledge of the candidates and their positions.

Awareness and participation impacts varied according to party affiliation. All kinds of ads had more impact on Republicans than Democrats or unaffiliated voters.

“The implications are clear,” says Pfau. “It would be a lot healthier for democracy in terms of voter education and participation if only candidate ads would be run. But that is a policy question for others to decide.”

Aid supports lake research
The Sea Grant Institute will receive $1.83 million in federal support for the second year of its 2000-02 program.

Coupled with $1.5 million in matching funds from the state of Wisconsin and private sources, the federal grant will support more than two dozen Great Lakes-related research, outreach and education projects involving more than 170 faculty, staff and students at seven UW System campuses, including UW–Madison.