Seth Rankins
Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Graduate Research Assistant / Masters of Science in Range and Wildlife Management / Cesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute
The influence of microhabitat on the phenotypic quality of white-tailed deer in South Texas
Seth Rankins is originally from Cusseta, Alabama. He received his B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Management from Auburn University in 2017. While at Auburn University he helped with several research projects with their Deer Lab. Currently he resides in Kingsville, Texas where he is working on a M.S. degree under Dr. Randy DeYoung at the Cesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. For his Master’s research he trying to determine if forage quantity or quality is limiting deer growth in areas with poor soils. Understanding the answer to this question can help direct future deer management. One of Seth’s favorite aspects of his project is coordinating with the East Foundation to put on their annual deer captures. He says “besides providing me with important morphometric data on deer, it also gives hundreds of aspiring wildlife professionals an opportunity to gain hands on knowledge with an iconic game species.” While he stays busy with his research, Seth is hoping that his name gets drawn for one of the several public land hunts he entered for this coming season. This will give him the opportunity to harvest a big game other than a white-tailed deer, which is what he grew up hunting in Alabama.
