Bugfixer... Great information there!!! After reading the "Conclusion" from the site you provided, I stand by my original statement about the Northern rut occurring, per se, earlier than the South and for reasons the website you provided stated.
Here it is:
CONCLUSION
Peak whitetail conception above Latitude 45 is very consistent, offering strong support that photoperiodism is the key factor. This finely tuned system, evolved over eons, is critical to their survival. Deer in northern climates are born late enough to benefit from spring green-up, but early enough to achieve sufficient growth to survive the rigors of winter.
Moving south, winter survival becomes increasingly less of a factor. Habitat and rainfall become more important, and because they vary so much across the South, even within states, so does the rut. Additionally, many Southern populations contain genetic material of deer transplanted from northern states that creates a predisposition to breed in mid-November.
