The influence of increasing density on body weight, kid production, home range and winter grouping in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)

Seasonal variations in whole-body composition of 43 European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) collected in the southeastern part of Norway were examined. Adult deer showed a defined annual cycle in both body weight and body fat reserves. Fat accumulated in September and October, reaching a maximum of 9.2% of the ingesta-free body weight in does and 10.3% in bucks, in late fall (November and December). The depletion phase started in early January and ended in April. No intersexual differences in amplitude or synchrony of body weight or fat cycle were observed. This contrasts with results in other temperate and northern cervids and could be due to differences in life strategy, particularly reproductive effort (midsummer rut, delayed implantation, and mating territories), in European roe deer.

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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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Assessment of selected indicators of the individual condition of roe deer Capreolus capreolus in the closed hunting season

Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Zootechnica ◽

10.21005/asp.2020.19.4.11 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 87-92

Author(s):

Piotr Czyżowski ◽

◽

Anna Okrasa ◽

Mirosław Karpiński ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Breeding Season ◽

Roe Deer ◽

Capreolus Capreolus ◽

Kidney Weight ◽

Hunting Season ◽

Vegetation Growth ◽

Reduced Body ◽

Fat Reserves ◽

Individual Condition

The aim of the study was to assess the condition of roe deer in the closed hunting season based on the analysis of body weight and fat reserves in roe deer killed in road collisions. The research material consisted of kidneys dissected from 12 bucks, 4 does, and 5 fawns killed in road accidents between February 12 and May 10, 2020. The measurements were used for calculation of the kidney fat index (KFI) based on the formula [Bobek et al. 1984]: KFI = kidney weight with fat/kidney weight without fat. The study presents the distribution of the analyzed parameters with reference to the animal sex and month in which the animal died in the road collision. A distinct decline in the value of fat reserves expressed as the KFI index and the perirenal fat weight mass was observed in the study. In the first two months (February, March), this decrease coincided with reduced body weight, which rapidly increased in April. This may have been related to the intensive vegetation growth. Nevertheless, the costs of the breeding season (primarily in males) resulted in further weight loss in May. The analysis of carcass weight and fat reserves in roe deer killed in road collisions can complete the information about their individual condition and indirectly shows the condition of the roe deer population in the closed hunting season, i.e. in the critical period for this species (winter and the beginning of the breeding season).

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Memory drives the formation of animal home ranges: evidence from a reintroduction

10.1101/2020.07.30.229880 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nathan Ranc ◽

Francesca Cagnacci ◽

Paul Moorcroft

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

Empirical Data ◽

Roe Deer ◽

Capreolus Capreolus ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Primary Process ◽

Movement Model ◽

Large Mammal ◽

Resource Preference

Most animals live in a characteristic home range, a space-use pattern thought to emerge from the benefits of memory-based movements; however, a general model for characterizing and predicting their formation in the absence of territoriality has been lacking. Here, we use a mechanistic movement model to quantify the role of memory in the movements of a large mammal reintroduced into a novel environment, and to predict observed patterns of home range emergence. We show that an interplay between memory and resource preferences is the primary process influencing the movements of reintroduced roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Our memory-based model fitted with empirical data successfully predicts the formation of home ranges, as well as emerging properties of movement and revisits observed in the reintroduced animals. These results provide a quantitative framework for combining memory-based movements, resource preference and the emergence of home ranges in nature.

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