Locating and monitoring animals using tracking devices is a method commonly used for many taxa to study characteristics such as home-range size, habitat selection, movement patterns and other aspects ...of ranging behaviour. Fitting such devices requires the capture and handling of the study organism and researchers must then assume that a monitored animal behaves in a ‘normal’ way. We investigated whether the capture and handling of roe deer Capreolus capreolus induced behavioural alterations. In particular, we expected that the roe deer would exhibit a ‘seeking a refuge and waiting before returning’ strategy immediately after release, taking shelter far from the capture scene, in closed habitat, and exhibiting a reduced activity level. We evaluated the effect of capture and handling on 112 roe deer equipped with GPS collars, during a period of 50 days after release. We compared the first 10 days after release with the subsequent days for the following behavioural parameters: distance to the barycentre of their GPS fixes, presence in forest habitat, distance to the nearest forest patch, distance to a source of human disturbance, and activity level. We found pronounced differences in terms of spatial behaviour, habitat use and overall activity level between the two periods in GPS monitored roe deer. We also found differences in terms of spatial displacement between the sexes, with females responding less than males, and among age classes, with yearlings responding most and fawns least, to the capture and handling event. Finally, spatial displacement of roe deer increased with openness of the habitat due, in part, to the scarcity of available shelter in open areas. We conclude that the roe deer exhibited a strategy consisting of seeking a refuge and waiting before returning after capture, handling and fitting of a collar, with displacement towards a refuge habitat, in or near woodland, avoidance of sources of human disturbance and reduced activity levels. From a practical point of view, we recommend removing data during the first days of monitoring as behavioural alterations due to capture and handling may be pronounced.
Predator selectivity for age and sex classes has large implications for their impact on prey populations. We examined whether the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx selects specific sex and age categories of ...roe deer Capreolus capreolus, and if this selection pattern differs between summer and winter. Data on sex and age of 194 roe deer killed by 44 VHF‐ and GPS‐marked lynx were collected in southern Norway from 1995 to 2010. The sex and age distribution of the roe deer population was estimated using demographic parameters estimated from radio‐collared roe deer in the study area. We found that lynx selection differed between summer and winter. In both seasons, lynx selected adult roe deer of both sexes. In summer, there was a clear selection against yearlings, but in winter, lynx selected male yearlings. Compared with the availability, fawns of both sexes were under‐represented during summer. Male and female lynx did not differ in their prey selection, but yearling lynx tended to kill a larger proportion of roe deer fawns than older lynx. We argue that seasonal differences in behaviour, activity and habitat use by roe deer may explain this variation in lynx selection patterns, supporting the view that prey selection is affected by the life cycle stage of both the predators and the prey.
While the roe deer (Capreolus capeolus) is the most important game species in Germany and its venison is popular, there is limited knowledge about the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in this animal ...population in the country, and in wild ungulates in Germany generally. Between 2013 and 2015, we collected 295 blood samples from roe deer belonging to a central German population. Sera were analysed using a modified agglutination test (MAT, cut-off 1:20), and antibodies were detected in 86 of the 295 samples (29%). Seroprevalence values differed significantly between the different age classes, with antibodies more frequently observed in adults. In contrast, seroprevalence did not differ significantly between the sexes or collection years. Venison is frequently consumed raw or undercooked and may be a potential source of human infection with T. gondii.
The impact of parasites on population dynamics is well documented, but less is known on how host population density affects parasite spread. This relationship is difficult to assess because of ...confounding effects of social structure, population density, and environmental conditions that lead to biased among-population comparisons. Here, we analyzed the infestation by two groups of nematodes (gastro-intestinal (GI) strongyles and Trichuris) in the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population of Trois Fontaines (France) between 1997 and 2007. During this period, we experimentally manipulated population density through changes in removals. Using measures collected on 297 individuals, we quantified the impact of density on parasite spread after taking into account possible influences of date, age, sex, body mass, and weather conditions. The prevalence and abundance of eggs of both parasites in females were positively related to roe deer density, except Trichuris in adult females. We also found a negative relationship between parasitism and body mass, and strong age and sex-dependent patterns of parasitism. Prime-age adults were less often parasitized and had lower fecal egg counts than fawns or old individuals, and males were more heavily and more often infected than females. Trichuris parasites were not affected by weather, whereas GI strongyles were less present after dry and hot summers. In the range of observed densities, the observed effect of density likely involves a variation of the exposure rate, as opposed to variation in host susceptibility.
Over the last few decades, in Italy as in the rest of EU, both the number of wild ungulates and the volume of traffic have increased significantly. Consequently, ungulate-vehicle collisions have ...increased with significant costs in human death and injury, animal welfare and material damage. In this study we provide information about temporal patterns of collisions in a subalpine Italian region. We analyzed 1110 reports of accidents that occurred in Cuneo district from January 2008 to December 2011. Most of them were caused by roe deer and wild boar, while red deer, fallow deer and chamois were occasionally involved. Monthly distribution of accidents showed two peaks, with a higher risk of collision during spring mainly related to roe deer and a secondary peak in autumn caused by wild boar. No evident daily variations were noticed. In the case of roe deer, we reported the existence of a primary hourly peak at dusk and another secondary peak at dawn. Wild boar were most frequently involved in collisions during dusk and night. We hypothesized that these temporal distributions are the result of a complex interaction of phenological, behavioral and human-related reasons. Information provided in this study allows us to better understand the dynamics and patterns of wildlife-car collisions and represents an indispensable element for the implementation of any mitigation strategy.
Faecal pellet count is an indirect census method used to estimate the density of an animal population. Factors that affect the accuracy and precision of this method are the defecation rate, the decay ...time and the detectability of the droppings. In this study, we analysed the influence of some variables on the detectability of droppings: (i) environmental variables, EV (vegetation type, grass height, meteorological conditions); (ii) subjective variables, SV (operator, subjective visibility); (iii) faeces-species related variables, SRV (Capreolus capreolus Linnaeus, 1758; Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 and Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778). The average values of dropping detectability, expressed as percentage of observations from the minimum detectability (0) to the maximum (1), were: 0.99 (SD = 0.07) for red deer faeces; 0.93 (SD = 0.16) for roe deer faeces; 0.89 (SD = 0.21) for European brown hare faeces. The red deer detectability value was statistically higher than the roe deer and European brown hare values (X
2
= 26.61, df = 2, p < 0.01). A generalised linear model (GLM) analysis shows that the variables which negatively affect the dropping detectability are different for the three species: (i) vegetation type, especially deciduous forest, for the red deer; (ii) grass height for the European brown hare; (iii) subjective visibility, especially the category "none", for the roe deer. These results suggest that the characteristics of both the study area and the species considered could affect the detectability of droppings, and therefore also the entire estimation density. So, faecal pellet count monitoring programmes should carefully take into account the environmental characteristics and should be performed when detectability is maximised (e.g. short grass, fewer leaves, less undergrowth).
Methodological problems in describing patterns of senescence in wild populations have until recently impeded progress in understanding the evolution of a process that decreases individual fitness. We ...investigated age- and sex-specific survival in five populations of three species of ungulates (roe deer, Capreolus capreolus; bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis; and isard, Rupicapra pyrenaica), using recent statistical developments of capture-mark-recapture models and long-term (12 to 22 yr) data on marked individuals. The yearly survival of females aged 2-7 yr was remarkably similar and very high (92-95%) in all five populations. Survival of adult males varied among species and populations. Survival decreased from 8 yr onward for both sexes in all populations, suggesting that senescence was a common phenomenon. Male survival was lower than female survival, and the gender difference increased with age. The extent of sex differences in survival was related neither to sexual dimorphism in mass nor to the level of polygyny, suggesting that species differences in social behavior, particularly mating system and the level of male-male aggression, may be more important than simply the level of polygyny in explaining sexual differences in survival. Our results underline the advantages of long-term monitoring of marked individuals for the study of evolutionary ecology.
Major roads cause barrier effect and fragmentation on wildlife habitats that are suitable places for feeding, mating, socializing, and hiding. Due to wildlife collisions (Wc), human-wildlife ...conflicts result in lost lives and loss of biodiversity. Geographical information system (GIS)-based multi criteria evaluation (MCE) methods have been successfully used in short-term planning of road networks considering wild animals. Recently, wildlife passages have been effectively utilized as road engineering structures provide quick and certain solutions for traffic safety and wildlife conservation problems. GIS-based MCE methods provide decision makers with optimum location for ecological passages based on habitat suitability models (HSMs) that classify the areas based on ecological requirements of target species. In this study, ecological passages along Motorway 52 within forested areas in Mediterranean city of Osmaniye in Turkey were evaluated. Firstly, HSM coupled with nine eco-geographic decision variables were developed based on ecological requirements of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) that were chosen as target species. Then specified decision variables were evaluated using GIS-based weighted linear combination (WLC) method to estimate movement corridors and mitigation points along the motorway. In the solution process, two linkage nodes were evaluated for eco-passages which were determined based on the least-cost movement corridor intersecting with the motorway. One of the passages was identified as a natural wildlife overpass while the other was suggested as underpass construction. The results indicated that computer-based models provide accurate and quick solutions for positioning ecological passages to reduce environmental effects of road networks on wild animals.
The wild population of fallow deer in Central Europe has grown considerably over the last decade. However, information on feeding habits of this alien species in relation to the indigenous red deer ...or roe deer, in areas of their co-occurrence, is scarce. A prevailing view maintains that their food-niches are distinct, although direct comparative studies have not been carried out. Therefore, the aim of the research was to compare the diets of fallow, red, and roe deer feeding in the same habitat. Research was based on the rumen contents of 242 animals hunted in the autumn-winter season in the forests of Southern Poland. The analyses demonstrated that fallow deer are moderate grazers in such conditions and eat more graminoids in comparison to red or roe deer (36.4% vs. 16.1% or 5.5%, respectively). On the other hand, it feeds on less browse (17.2% vs. 41.4%) or dwarf shrubs (8.4% vs. 19.0%) than red deer, and on less bramble (10.9% vs. 34.6%) or forbs (4.0% vs. 7.6%) in comparison to roe deer (P=0.05). Although the diets of the three deer species differ in terms of the proportion of each food type in their diet, overlapping of their food-niches is high (52.6%).
The present paper examines the degree of environmental contamination in areas covered by the Natura 2000 programme, located in north-western Poland, with selected heavy metals based on their ...concentration in target organs of roe and red deer. Lead, cadmium, copper, iron, and zinc concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry. Residues of lead and cadmium were found in most of the analysed samples of roe and red deer organs The concentration of cadmium in the organs of the animals studied was much higher than that of lead. The median for Pb in liver and kidneys was 0.055 and 0.092 μg/g dry weight (d.w.) in roe deer, and 0.067 and 0.081 μg/g d.w. in red deer, respectively. The median for liver and kidney cadmium was 0.770 and 6.139 μg/g d.w. in roe deer, and 0.422 and 6.365 μg/g d.w. in red deer, respectively. Our study has demonstrated that this area is laden with lead and cadmium. This is evidenced by the fact that maximum permissible levels of these elements in the organs of red and roe deer, which were used as bioindicators of environmental contamination, were exceeded.
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