Why are deer bigger in some places rather than others

quote:

---

Bergmann's rule is an ecogeographic principle that states that within a broadly distributed taxonomic clade, populations and species of larger size are found in colder environments, and species of smaller size are found in warmer regions. Although originally formulated in terms of species within a genus, it has often been recast in terms of populations within a species. It is also often cast in terms of latitude.

---

quote:

---

Food and genetics

---

quote:

---

Biologists long ago identified eight distinct subspecies of whitetail deer in North America. In addition to the Coues deer and what I used to know as the Keys Deer (now generally referred to as the “Seminole deer”), there are six other subpopulations of whitetails--the differences between them are “size, appearance, habitats and adaptations in behavior by climactic condition,” according to Whitetail Slam. Under this new system, hunters pursuing a deer slam can notch credit for tagging bucks in each of these distinct regions, which as the map illustrates, is a pretty large swath of country.

---

quote:

---

WhitetailSLAM uses eight whitetailed deer territories to represent the traditional ranges of 8 hunt able North American whitetails included in the WhitetailSLAM award recognition platform. The whitetails in these eight territories have the most recognizable differences as to size, appearance, habitats and adaptation in behavior to climatic conditions. The map below outlines the 8 varied habitat areas that have allowed the whitetailed deer living in these areas to become strikingly different.

---

quote:

---

Bergmanns rule

---