Male red deer (Cervus elaphus) dispersal during the breeding season

Abstract

Breeding dispersal can be of significant ecological and evolutionary importance. Yet, it is seldom considered in mammals. I present data on male red deer (Cervus elaphus) movements between sub-populations in southern Sweden during the rut. I investigated whether these movements could be breeding dispersal driven by mate competition. During the ruts of 1998–2009, I recorded 91 movements of males. The longest movement distance was 18.5 km. Dispersal was not restricted to yearlings or sub-adults, but also observed among adult stags. Of 91 movements observed, 7 were made by yearlings, 46 by sub-adults and 38 by adults. There was a significant move among yearlings and sub-adults towards areas with a higher ratio of females/adult males and towards areas with more females. The movements between rutting areas thereby seemed driven by sexual competition.