About Bigtooth Maple

• Bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum Nutt.) grows in various habitats at high elevations and in protected canyon bottoms at lower elevations across intermountain western North America.
• Small relict populations are found in the arid southwest, including several in the Edwards Plateau region of Central Texas.
• Populations are difficult to find and access because they are in remote areas and/or on private land.
• Little ecological or population information is available concerning these communities.
• There are a number of anecdotal reports that suggest browsing by white-tailed deer is a major cause of bigtooth maple population declines.
• Lost Maples State Natural Area has one of the largest bigtooth maple populations and one with at least partial protection.
• Herbivory from large vertebrates can negatively impact the growth and survival of plant seedlings.
• Plant species which are highly preferred by herbivores tend to decrease in density.
• This allows species that are less preferred or resistant to herbivory to increase their density.
• Both bigtooth maple and sugar maple are considered low feeding preference species.
• No studies testing this hypothesis have been identified for bigtooth maple.
• White-tailed deer are a suspected cause of sugar maple regeneration failure in many areas of the United States.

video by Justin Moore