Use of space and habitat selection by roe deer Capreolus capreolus in a Mediterranean coastal area: how does woods landscape affect home range?

In most previous studies of habitat selection, the use of a given habitat type is assumed to be directly proportional to its availability. However, the use and (or) the selection of a given habitat may be conditional on the availability of that habitat. We aim here to (i) identify the environmental variables involved in habitat selection, (ii) identify classes of individuals with similar patterns of habitat selection, and (iii) assess whether habitat use changes with changing availability of habitat types, within monthly home ranges of female western roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus (L., 1758)). We found that some females adjust their habitat use according to the distribution of resources within habitats. Females with similar home ranges in terms of resource quantity and quality showed similar patterns of habitat selection. Differences in habitat use between 2 years with contrasting resource availability showed that temporal changes of environmental conditions influenced the pattern of habitat selection by female roe deer. Habitat selection also differed between periods of the life cycle likely because of contrasted energy requirements. This study shows that the relationship between habitat use by herbivores and habitat availability is nonproportional, and that the availability of resources influences use mostly at intermediate values.

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Scale-dependent trade-offs in foraging by European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) during winter

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z99-118 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 77 (9) ◽

pp. 1486-1493 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Atle Mysterud ◽

Lise-Berith Lian ◽

Dag Øystein Hjermann

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Food Availability ◽

Food Preference ◽

Roe Deer ◽

Capreolus Capreolus ◽

Cold Weather ◽

Human Settlement ◽

Feeding Sites ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Availability Index

We studied food preferences of and patch and habitat selection by European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) by snow-tracking radio-tagged individuals. To account for the possible biases caused by patch/habitat selection on measures of food preference, we adopted a new method in which diet choice is compared with availability within each forage patch successively rather than to some home-range or study-area average. There was no difference in food preference between males and females or between day and night. When compared with that in random sites 50 m from feeding sites (patch scale), selection was random with regard to cover; however, the food availability index was higher for feeding sites than for random sites. Roe deer selected feeding sites with more cover during cold weather, whereas the food availability index had no effect at this scale (habitat scale). Roe deer selected more open habitat and feeding sites closer to human settlement at night and as snow depth increased. Females tended to select foraging sites that were more hidden than those of males. There was direct evidence of a trade-off between selection of food availability and both canopy cover and distance to human settlement but not between food availability and concealment cover.

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Habitat selection and impact of red (Cervus elaphus L.) and roe (Capreolus capreolus L.) deer in a Sitka spruce plantation

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Section B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1017/s026972700000381x ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 82 (4) ◽

pp. 303-319 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Brian W. Staines ◽

David Welch

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Cervus Elaphus ◽

Red Deer ◽

Roe Deer ◽

Capreolus Capreolus ◽

Sitka Spruce ◽

Old Trees

SynopsisThe study began in 1978 at Glenbranter Forest, Argyll. Use of habitat by red and roe deer was measured from the accumulation of pellet groups and from observations. Approximately 2000 trees less than 9 years old and 6000 older ones were monitored for damage and response.Habitats in areas dominated by heather in or close to the forest were the most occupied by both species and pole-stage crops the least. However, most dung was found on the extensive areas of recently planted ground. Roe deer were relatively more abundant than red deer in stands of 9 to 15 year-old trees.In summer, red deer ate mainly grasses and roe mainly forbs. In winter, these preferences remained, but Calluna became more important to both.Browsing on leaders was heaviest in winter and May–June. Approximately 50% of leaders on trees less than 6 years old were browsed annually. Most trees regained leaders within 12 months, many becoming multi-stemmed. Of the trees. 1% were bark-stripped per annum. In older stands the smaller trees were most damaged, in younger stands the larger trees.

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Experimental evidence for density-dependence of home-range size in roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus L.): a comparison of two long-term studies

Oecologia ◽

10.1007/s00442-004-1529-z ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 139 (3) ◽

pp. 478-485 ◽

Cited By ~ 97

Author(s):

P. Kjellander ◽

A. J. M. Hewison ◽

O. Liberg ◽

J.-M. Angibault ◽

E. Bideau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

Density Dependence ◽

Experimental Evidence ◽

Roe Deer ◽

Capreolus Capreolus ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Range Size ◽

Long Term Studies

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Seasonal migration and home range of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in the Italian eastern Alps

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z06-210 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 85 (2) ◽

pp. 280-289 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

M. Ramanzin ◽

E. Sturaro ◽

D. Zanon

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

Roe Deer ◽

Capreolus Capreolus ◽

High Elevation ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Seasonal Migration ◽

Migration Strategy ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

Winter Range ◽

Short Period

Although it has been demonstrated that European roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus (L. 1758)) may migrate seasonally in areas with snow gradients, this behaviour remains scarcely understood. From 1999 to 2002, radio-tracking techniques in an Italian alpine area showed that 40% of the 32 monitored roe deer migrated (12.0 ± 6.2 km, mean ± SD) from the high-elevation summer ranges to the low-elevation winter ranges. Proportions of migratory deer were similar for fawns and adults and for males and females. We documented a mixed migration strategy, with most deer migrating once to the winter range in years of heavy snowfalls, but many deer migrating inconsistently or only for a short period to the winter range in one year with very scarce snowfalls. Seasonal home-range sizes were similar for migratory and stationary deer, except in a winter with very shallow snow when migrators used unusually large home ranges. In all seasons, migrators showed a lower within home range site fidelity than did stationary deer. Our results indicate that seasonal migrations may be a common strategy exhibited by roe deer living in mountain areas to avoid deep snow, and that variability in climatic conditions might be responsible for the development of variable spatial strategies.

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