Overview
- A University of Georgia field team surveyed Whitehall Forest near Athens over three months, documenting 109 antler rubs and 37 urine-marked scrapes across roughly 800 acres.
- The markings photoluminesce under ultraviolet light that deer can perceive at dawn and dusk, whereas humans require UV lights to see the effect.
- Authors propose the glow functions as a visual cue that complements established scent signaling during the breeding season, a hypothesis that awaits behavioral confirmation.
- Researchers attribute rub luminescence to plant sap mixed with forehead gland secretions, with scrape glow likely arising from urine.
- Published in Ecology & Evolution, the work is presented as the first quantified evidence of environmental glow in deer signposts linked to a potential communication role, with visibility increasing as the rut approaches.