Abstract
Social-space–time-behaviour has developed very differently (e.g. a, loner, a herd, a pack) in the animal kingdom and depends on many different factors, like food availability, competition, predator avoidance or disturbances. It is known, that red deer are differently distributed in human disturbed areas compared to areas with less anthropogenic influences. But knowledge about the potential influence of human presence on social associations and interactions is rare, albeit differences may result in changing impacts on the environment, such as habitat utilization and feeding damage. Therefore, we investigated differences in the space use and social association of red deer. We studied two radio-collared herds of non-migratory populations in two study areas, which were comparable in landscape structure and vegetation structure, but differed in accessibility for visitors and the extent of their presence. Between the two study sites we compared the home range size, the differences in the extent of home range overlap within each study site and the space–time association (Jacobs Index) of individuals. Additionally, we present data on seasonal variations of home range sizes and social association all year round. In order to compare human activity in the study sites, we used the data from our long-term camera trap monitoring. The herd in the area with more human activity had significantly smaller home ranges and had greater year-round social associations in almost all seasons, except summer. We assume that smaller home ranges and higher association between animals may result in a higher feeding pressure on plants and a patchier utilization in areas with higher disturbances.
Highlights
There are many kinds of social association and grouping patterns in the animal kingdom which can occur at all sizes and across a range of temporal stability (Allee 1931)
The effects of several factors on the space–time-behaviour, e.g. home range size of deer, have already been investigated (e.g. Saïd et al 2005; Rivrud et al 2010; Coppes et al 2017; Bojarska et al 2020), but little is known about the social grouping behaviour of deer, especially of free ranging red deer in a strongly anthropogenous influenced country like Germany
Enhanced flight movements may lead to a higher energy expense by the animals, whereas stronger associations in smaller areas might lead to higher local feeding damage in the forests
Summary
There are many kinds of social association and grouping patterns in the animal kingdom which can occur at all sizes and across a range of temporal stability (Allee 1931). Unlike how Berger (2007) described unhunted populations of deer using humans as a shield against predators, red deer in Germany are traditionally hunted, and most likely sensitive to human disturbances (Stankowich 2008) This may lead to adaptations in their behaviour, avoidance of disturbed areas, or adjustments of their home ranges (Seip et al 2007; Jayakody et al 2008; Sibbald 2011; Lone et al 2015; Picardi et al 2018; Scholten et al 2018). We expected red deer to be more associated within the herd in response to a higher level of human activities This should result in smaller home ranges, a higher spatial overlap and the simultaneous use of the same home range area throughout the year. We present data on the seasonal variation in home range sizes and association level throughout one year
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