Ranging behaviour of translocated roe deer in a Mediterranean habitat: seasonal and altitudinal influences on home range size and patterns of range use
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Abstract
In this study we investigated the causes of seasonal variation in the home ranges of roe deer reintroduced to the Gardunha Mountains (Portugal). From May 2002 to April 2003, 1 year after the animals had been released, we collected data using radio-tracking techniques for five monitored animals (two males and three females). We found differences in the size of home ranges between seasons, with home ranges larger in summer than winter (minimum convex polygon peeled to 95%: summer 409.64±98.20 ha, winter 116.20±17.90 ha). This is contrary to evidence from central and northern Europe, where home ranges are typically larger in winter than summer. Moreover, two of the sampled females and one of the males tended to use higher elevations in summer. Comparisons between Mediterranean populations and those in central and northern Europe showed that Mediterranean populations in the winter easily fulfil their needs within a small area, whereas in the hot dry summer a larger area is needed. Furthermore, individuals prefer a higher, cooler mountainous habitat in summer, which is likely to be a means of avoiding warmer temperatures.
©2008 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
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- Ranging behaviour of translocated roe deer in a Mediterranean habitat: seasonal and altitudinal influences on home range size and patterns of range use
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- Book Reviews
- Book reviews
- Meeting announcements
- 10.1515/MAMM.2008.013
Articles in the same Issue
- Original Studies
- Review of the earliest Central European Ochotona (Mammalia: Lagomorpha), with a description of a new species from Poland
- Decline of peccaries in a protected subtropical forest of Brazil: toward conservation issues
- Ranging behaviour of translocated roe deer in a Mediterranean habitat: seasonal and altitudinal influences on home range size and patterns of range use
- How rare is the rare Andean cat?
- Copulatory pattern of the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum
- Geometric morphometric analysis of Iranian wood mice of the genus Apodemus (Rodentia, Muridae)
- A survey of the small mammals of Minziro Forest, Tanzania, with several additions to the known fauna of the country
- Short Notes
- Seasonal use of a waterhole by Nubian ibex Capra nubiana (Artiodactyla: Bovidae)
- Early reproduction onset in four species of Didelphimorphia in the Peruvian Amazonia
- Southernmost record for a living marsupial
- Feeding habits of American mink from Biebrza Wetlands affected by varied winter conditions
- Book Reviews
- Book reviews
- Meeting announcements
- 10.1515/MAMM.2008.013
