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      Woodland features determining home range size of roe deer.

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          Abstract

          Use of ecotones by ungulates may be mediated by their movements between main feeding areas and woodland, where they locate their shelter. The roe deer Capreolus capreolus has been termed as a woodland species, although we suggest that it did not evolve as a forest ungulate, but depending on forest glades. Roe deer feed on a wide range of vegetal species, although their diet is mainly dominated by woody plants. Our study was carried out in a fragmented area covered with small forest patches of Mediterranean "macchia" scrubwood, interspersed in an agricultural matrix. Aim of our study has been to test how ranging movements of roe deer are influenced by landscape heterogeneity and to evaluate which features of woodland affect home range size. Radio-locations of 22 female and 12 male adult roe deer, monitored for three years, were used to assess home range size. A linear mixed model was fitted to investigate variation in home range size according to eleven spatial parameters estimated to describe home range size and composition. Throughout the year, no significant difference was found between home range sizes of males (median: 16.70ha, Q1-Q3: 13.20-31.60ha) and females (median: 23.52ha, Q1-Q3: 13.30-44.00ha: lme: F=0.9; P=0.35). Habitat density, edge density, percentage of woodland within home range and woodland structure determined home range size. Home ranges with few habitat types and a small amount of wood were large, while roe deer occupied small home ranges when habitat density was high and when a high proportion of wood was concentrated in a single large patch. Woodland covered a mean±SE of 36.2±17.9% in each home range. In conclusion, roe deer seem to be particularly well adapted to live in human transformed, peripheral habitats, e.g. farmlands, as long as a minimum quantity of woodland is included within their HR.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Behav. Processes
          Behavioural processes
          Elsevier BV
          1872-8308
          0376-6357
          Jul 2017
          : 140
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Research Unit of Behavioural Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management, Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy. Electronic address: sandro.lovari@gmail.com.
          [2 ] Research Unit of Behavioural Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management, Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy.
          Article
          S0376-6357(16)30379-5
          10.1016/j.beproc.2017.04.012
          28442429
          858bf15e-5a06-40cb-9797-fa6ae5a963a9
          History

          Capreolus capreolus,Ecotone,Habitat density,Habitat richness,Woodland dispersion,Woodland structure

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