Abstract
Understanding the drivers of seasonal migration among large herbivores is crucial for management and conservation. The forage maturation hypothesis predicts migration even at low population density, due to the benefits of increased access to newly emergent, high quality forage. We provide the first study comparing migration tendency of the two most widely distributed deer species in Europe, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). The study was conducted in an area with a low population density of both species. We found that 94% of the GPS‐collared red deer, but only 27% of the roe deer, migrated. This supports the forage maturation hypothesis in red deer only. Our study thus provides evidence of multiple causation of migration in ungulates, and is consistent with the hypothesis that the forage maturation hypothesis might be a more important driver for migration in grazers compared to browsers.
Highlights
Large herbivore migrations are globally considered threatened by human development (Berger 2004, Sawyer et al 2009)
Consistent with the suggestion that species might differ in migration propensity even in sympatry (Mysterud et al 2011, Mysterud 2012), we found a much higher proportion of migrating red deer than roe deer in a low density population, suggesting forage maturation hypothesis (FMH) as a driver of migration only in red deer
With only 4 migrating roe deer, we were unable to test for more detailed differences in migration pattern (Table 2)
Summary
Large herbivore migrations are globally considered threatened by human development (Berger 2004, Sawyer et al 2009). In order to conserve this phenomena there is an urgent need to better understand the primary drivers of migration, and studies of partially migratory populations are considered especially enlightening (Chapman et al 2011). The most common pattern of migration of large herbivores at northern latitudes involves a cycle of movements from low elevation winter areas to high elevation summer areas (Brazda 1953, Mysterud 1999). While the movement in fall to low elevation is mainly related to more snow accumulating at high elevation (Cagnacci et al 2011), there are multiple hypotheses that predict the subsequent uphill migration in spring (Mysterud et al 2011). We here compare migration tendency of the two most widely distributed deer species in Europe, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus)
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