hh.sePublications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Temporal variations in activity patterns during rut - Implications for survey techniques of red deer, Cervus elaphus
Halmstad University, School of Business, Engineering and Science, The Rydberg Laboratory for Applied Sciences (RLAS). Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agriculture, SLU, Riddarhyttan, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3174-8604
Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agriculture, SLU, Riddarhyttan, Sweden.
Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agriculture, SLU, Riddarhyttan, Sweden.
2017 (English)In: Wildlife research (East Melbourne), ISSN 1035-3712, E-ISSN 1448-5494, Vol. 44, no 2, p. 106-113Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Context Intraspecific differences in behaviour can affect censuses and bias population estimates, suggesting that choice and implementation of census methods are fundamental, and need to be adapted to behavioural variations. Aims We investigated temporal variations in activity patterns during the rut among red deer (Cervus elaphus) categories and the implications for two different census methods. Methods We used a long-term dataset collected during 17 consecutive red deer rutting seasons in southernmost Sweden. The two census methods were: (1) a collection of observation ratios; and (2) a count of individuals including identification of males. Both methods are commonly used in ungulate management. Key results There was a difference in activity among age and sex categories, with a temporal variation in activity and/or presence at rutting grounds of adult (≥6 years) and subadult (2-5 years) males. Observation ratios of adult and subadult males increased from low at the start of the rut to a top level during peak rut, with subadults lagging behind adults. Before and during peak rut, the proportion of adult males was higher than that of subadults. After peak rut, the proportion of adult males decreased, whereas subadult males remained high, resulting in a higher number of subadults than of adults. The comparison of the two census methods revealed a strong correlation regarding the trends of population size and for the age and sex categories. There was also a strong consistency concerning the calf/female ratio. The male proportion was, however, consistently lower in the collected observations than in the counts. Conclusions The lower proportion of males in observations compared with counts may be explained by behavioural differences among male age classes, i.e. by temporal variations in presence and activity. That females, calves and yearling males are stationary during the rut, but adult and subadult males arrive and depart the rutting grounds at varying points of time, can lead to an underestimated male proportion in continuously collected observation data. Implications The results suggest that census should be conducted during peak rut, and that incorporating identification of individual males in the monitoring may be beneficiary. © CSIRO 2017.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Clayton: CSIRO Publishing, 2017. Vol. 44, no 2, p. 106-113
Keywords [en]
activity pattern, age structure, behavioral response, census, community composition, dee, intraspecific variation, long-term change, monitoring, photograph, population size, rutting, sex ratio, temporal variation, trend analysis, wildlife management, Sweden, Cervus elaphus, Ungulata
National Category
Zoology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-35381DOI: 10.1071/WR16156ISI: 000403463600003Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85020502984OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-35381DiVA, id: diva2:1158442
Funder
Region SkåneAvailable from: 2017-11-20 Created: 2017-11-20 Last updated: 2017-11-20Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textScopus

Authority records

Jarnemo, Anders

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Jarnemo, Anders
By organisation
The Rydberg Laboratory for Applied Sciences (RLAS)
In the same journal
Wildlife research (East Melbourne)
Zoology

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 154 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf