Manipulation of reproductive seasonality of farmed red deer ( Cervus elaphus) and fallow deer ( Dama dama) by strategic administration of exogenous melatonin

Correspondence has appeared in the literature concerning the relationships between red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), fallow deer (Dama dama) and some other species, such as Japanese deer (Cervus nippon), which are feral in the British Isles. Competition, described as antipathy or antagonism by various writers, appears to be the most widely accepted mechanism whereby relative abundance of one deer species is often correlated with relative scarcity of others. Other explanations involve geographical limits of distribution, two examples being the relative abundance of fallow deer in the south of England, and of roe deer in the Lake District (Delap 1955, Carne 1955). Carne (1954) has stated that Japanese (syn. sika) and fallow deer are, having been introduced into Britain, a powerful deterrent to the roe; he claims support for this contention from historical records which he considers show that as fallow deer have increased in an area, roe deer have decreased, often to extinction. Having observed in the Lake District of England that fallow deer have never established themselves in forests occupied by roe deer, Carne confirmed (1955) a statement by Delap (1955) that there is antipathy between them. Delap also stated that roe deer and red deer or red deer and fallow deer can 'associate happily', but that antagonism exists between roe deer and fallow deer. However, even co-existence of red deer and roe deer does not appear to be a constant feature; Wildash (1951) records that roe deer are seldom found where red deer are present in any numbers in Austria, that the red deer is a 'natural enemy' of the roe, and also that Austrian foresters could not give any reason for this antipathy. The purpose of this paper is to examine these ideas in the light of further evidence. It will be shown that roe, red and fallow deer are characteristically most numerous at different stages in the development of several British forests; when two or more of these three species are present in the same forest area, the number of each of them increases and decreases in a successional manner, which is related to development of the forest habitat towards a climax of mature trees. Such successional changes of the deer fauna are considered to be similar in nature to the marked changes which were shown to occur to the species composition of the bird fauna when a heathland area in East Anglia was afforested (Lack & Lack 1951).

Distribution of Lesions in Red and Fallow Deer Naturally Infected with Mycobacterium bovis

Mesenchymal stem cells positive to surface antigen STRO-1 were isolated from regenerating antlers of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and fallow deer (Dama dama) using a magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) method. In this study we analysed factors potentially affecting the number of STRO-1+ cells in the cell cultures. With regard to the STRO-1 antigen, we evaluated data from 188 MACS separation procedures of cell cultures cultivated in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium and 10% fetal calf serum of four fallow deer males (130 procedures) and four red deer males (58 procedures). The analysed factors were the sampling site of the antler or the pedicle, cell passage and type of the cell culture (mixed or STRO-1 negative cell cultures). The percentage of obtained STRO-1+ cells varied greatly from 0.4 to 38.9% for fallow deer and from 1.8 to 16.5% for red deer. We have not found any significant influence of the sampling site. The passage and the type of culture were significant factors for both fallow and red deer cells. The highest numbers of STRO-1+ cells were obtained from the second passage from both fallow and red deer cell cultures (24.6 and 5.5%, respectively). Our experiment revealed that we can maximise the number of STRO-1+ cells in the cultures by manipulating the cultivation factors.

We conducted a series of studies in the Dobris Forest, Czech Republic, to determine whether competition between white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and sympatric cervid species could limit expansion of the white-tail population. We used grazing time among species as an indication of potential interspecific competition and predicted that grazing time on an open pasture would decrease if deer other than conspecifics were present or entered the pasture. We used 710 observational records in our analyses: 409 for white-tailed deer, 225 for fallow deer (Dama dama), 66 for red deer (Cervus elaphus), and 10 for roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). The time that white-tailed, fallow, and roe deer spent grazing was not affected by whether the pasture was harvested or whether any deer were present when the focal animal entered. We observed a strong tendency for grazing time by red deer to be directly related to the numbers of whitetails or female fallow deer visible before red deer entered the pasture, Grazing time of white-tailed and fallow deer increased if the focal deer was joined by another animal. For white-tailed and fallow deer, the anti-predatory strategy of joining a group may have been balanced by avoiding the most competitive classes of animals. Our results suggest that interspecific cooperative behavior, rather than interspecific competition, occurs among these sympatric cervids.

We studied the diet composition and diet overlap in sympatric red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) and fallow deer (Dama dama) throughout a whole year in order to determine variation due to season, species, sex and age class by analysing rumen contents samples of 81 red and 69 fallow deer shot monthly during 2008–09 in Sierra de Andújar Natural Park, southern Spain. We assessed diet similarity and possible inter- and intra-specific foraging competition. We found different foraging strategies for both species and sexes during constraint periods, and several theoretical considerations of specific interactions and behaviour are discussed with respect to the Mediterranean environment. In both species an annual diet dominated by grasses was recorded, peaking in spring. Browses were an important food resource at the end of winter and at the end of summer, and fruit more in autumn and winter. Red deer ingested a higher proportion of browse than fallow deer, which consumed more acorns and for a longer time showed a better ability to compensate for nutritional constraint periods. An overall decline in diet similarity in summer and at the end of winter led us to assume that exploitative competition between red and fallow deer and even between sexes was probable. Red deer females showed low diet similarity to other deer, while there was a great diet overlap between red deer males and fallow deer females at the end of summer. Differences detected between both two species and sexes do not always support predictions deriving from specific body size and morpho-physiological characteristics, but can probably be explained as a consequence of different metabolic demands. The relationship between plant nutritional attributes and food selection according to reproductive or physiological status and seasonal demands for both sexes and species should be researched in order to perform a better assessment of deer feeding behaviour.

Integrating the interaction between cell wall components through a lignin and neutral detergent fibre ratio as a cell wall digestibility (CWD) index may provide a suitable method for diet quality and fibre digestibility estimation. Predictive faecal-Fourier-transform (FT)-near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) equations useful for CWD determination were developed as an integrative assessment of the digestibility and quality of the diet selected by red (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) and fallow (Dama dama) deer in southern Spain. A chemometric regression was used from spectra of faeces and wet chemical rumen contents analysis as reference data coupled with partial least-squares. The accuracy and feasibility of the equations obtained for red and fallow deer samples separately were evaluated, as well as after pooling all samples for both species. The predictive equations had a high linearity with correlation coefficients (r) ranging between 0.89 and 0.99, as well as a reliable accuracy considering the errors of prediction (RMSEP 0.57–0.87), calibration (RMS 0.04–0.45) and cross-calibration (RMSECV 0.80–1.12) in relation to the range of values for which the NIRS calibration was set for each parameter, giving very good RER (residual error value) indices (7.44–13.23). The ability of the calibration equations to predict new samples from the same deer populations was also assessed through an external validation. Equations obtained for the red deer data were successfully applied not only to red deer but also to fallow deer, and vice versa. Feasible CWD simultaneous determination in red and fallow deer was also obtained by using the broad-based equations. There was variation of the CWD index throughout the year and differences between the two deer species. A lower CWD of the forage was recorded in red deer, while a lower CWD ratio was detected at the end of winter coinciding with the highest browsing levels in both species. This technique has potential to enable closer examination of the non-grass variables and distinguish between browse and herbage feeding behaviour. The faecal-NIRS method of CWD ratio determination is a useful, non-invasive tool for monitoring variations in the diet quality of Mediterranean deer in their natural environment.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a human pathogen that is primarily transmitted by the fecal-oral route and causes a usually self-limiting acute viral hepatitis. The virus is endemic in developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America and is responsible for sporadic cases in industrialized countries. In western Europe, an increasing number of autochthonous cases have been associated with zoonotic transmissions of HEV from domestic and wild animals. In Germany, animal reservoirs for HEV have been mainly assigned to domestic pigs and wild boars. To investigate the potential role of deer as a reservoir of HEV, we surveyed HEV-specific antibodies and RNA in deer samples from geographic regions in Germany. We sampled red deer (Cervus elaphus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) during active surveillance in three forest districts in northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony during 2011-12 and 2012-13, respectively. Additionally, archived samples of red, roe, and fallow deer (Dama dama), collected in 2000-01 in German national parks, were included in the study. Antibody prevalence ranged from 2-3.3% in red deer to 5.4-6.8% in roe deer. Viral RNA was detected in red deer and fallow deer at prevalences of 2.0-6.6% and 4.3%, respectively. The investigation confirmed the presence of HEV infections in three deer species in Germany. Red, roe, and fallow deer should be further monitored to assess their role as hosts and potential reservoirs of HEV in Germany.

Eurasian deer are characterized by the extraordinary diversity of their vocal repertoires. Male sexual calls range from roars with relatively low fundamental frequency (hereafter f o) in red deer Cervus elaphus, to moans with extremely high f o in sika deer Cervus nippon, and almost infrasonic groans with exceptionally low f o in fallow deer Dama dama. Moreover, while both red and fallow males are capable of lowering their formant frequencies during their calls, sika males appear to lack this ability. Female contact calls are also characterized by relatively less pronounced, yet strong interspecific differences. The aim of this study is to examine the anatomical bases of these inter‐specific and inter‐sexual differences by identifying if the acoustic variation is reflected in corresponding anatomical variation. To do this, we investigated the vocal anatomy of male and female specimens of each of these three species. Across species and sexes, we find that the observed acoustic variability is indeed related to expected corresponding anatomical differences, based on the source‐filter theory of vocal production. At the source level, low f o is associated with larger vocal folds, whereas high f o is associated with smaller vocal folds: sika deer have the smallest vocal folds and male fallow deer the largest. Red and sika deer vocal folds do not appear to be sexually dimorphic, while fallow deer exhibit strong sexual dimorphism (after correcting for body size differences). At the filter level, the variability in formants is related to the configuration of the vocal tract: in fallow and red deer, both sexes have evolved a permanently descended larynx (with a resting position of the larynx much lower in males than in females). Both sexes also have the potential for momentary, call‐synchronous vocal tract elongation, again more pronounced in males than in females. In contrast, the resting position of the larynx is high in both sexes of sika deer and the potential for further active vocal tract elongation is virtually absent in both sexes. Anatomical evidence suggests an evolutionary reversal in larynx position within sika deer, that is, a secondary larynx ascent. Together, our observations confirm that the observed diversity of vocal behaviour in polygynous deer is supported by strong anatomical differences, highlighting the importance of anatomical specializations in shaping mammalian vocal repertoires. Sexual selection is discussed as a potential evolutionary driver of the observed vocal diversity and sexual dimorphisms.

BackgroundHunting constitutes an important industry in Europe. However, data on the prevalence of vector-borne bacteria in large game animal species are lacking from several countries. Blood or spleen samples (239 and 270, respectively) were taken from red, fallow and roe deer, as well as from water buffaloes, mouflons and wild boars in Hungary, followed by DNA extraction and molecular analyses for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, haemoplasmas and rickettsiae.ResultsBased on blood samples, the prevalence rate of A. phagocytophilum infection was significantly higher in red deer (97.9%) than in fallow deer (72.7%) and roe deer (60%), and in all these compared to mouflons (6.3%). In addition, 39.2% of the spleen samples from wild boars were PCR positive for A. phagocytophilum, but none of the buffalos. Based on blood samples, the prevalence rates of both Mycoplasma wenyonii (Mw) and ‘Candidatus M. haemobos’ (CMh) infections were significantly higher in buffaloes (Mw: 91.2%; CMh: 73.3%) than in red deer (Mw: 64.6%; CMh: 45.8%), and in both of them compared to fallow deer (Mw: 30.3%; CMh: 9.1%) and roe deer (Mw: 20%; CMh: 1.5%). The prevalence of Mw and CMh infection significantly correlated with the body sizes of these hosts. Furthermore, Mw was significantly more prevalent than CMh in buffaloes, red and roe deer. Mycoplasma ovis was detected in mouflons, M. suis in wild boars, R. helvetica in one fallow deer and one mouflon, and an unidentified Rickettsia sp. in a fallow deer.ConclusionsForest-dwelling game animal species were found to be important carriers of A. phagocytophilum. In contrast, animals grazing grassland (i.e. buffaloes) were less likely to get infected with this Ixodes ricinus-borne pathogen. Water buffaloes, deer species, mouflons and wild boars harbored haemoplasmas that may affect domestic ungulates. Evaluated animals with larger body size had significantly higher prevalence of infection with haemoplasmas compared to smaller deer species. The above host species rarely carried rickettsiae.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates from red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and fallow deer (Dama dama) in Poland

Two experiments were conducted to compare digestibility of 12 diets in sheep, red and fallow deer. No differences (p>0.05) between sheep, red and fallow deer in digestibility of dry matter, organic matter and digestible energy content for all diets were found except for the sorghum diet and medic hay. Sheep and fallow deer digested the sorghum diet better than red deer. An in vitro study showed that sheep had a lower in vitro dry matter digestibility and digestible energy content than both red and fallow deer, with a significant interaction between animal species and feed ingredient. Deer digested straws and hays better (p<0.05) than sheep. In vitro digestibility was lower (p<0.05) than in vivo digestibility, but significantly correlated with in vivo digestibility for red and fallow deer. The in vitro method for digestibility estimation has potential as a rapid feed evaluation system for deer, but needs further validation. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2002. Vol 15, No. 6 : 800-805)

In wildlife captive management, contraception is highly desirable due to inbreeding risk and needed control of intra- and inter-specific aggressions. Deer, for which surgical castration can cause abnormal growth of the antlers, are suitable candidates for pharmacological castration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pharmacological castration on the physiological patterns and volatile chemical profiles of two deer species. We placed a subcutaneous implant of deslorelin acetate (4.7 mg) on four male red deer (Cervus elaphus) and two male fallow deer (Dama dama) (N = 6) living together in a mixed-sex and -species group housed at a wildlife rescue centre in Tuscany, Italy. We combined hormone measurements and chemical investigation of metatarsal scent-gland odour secretions to test whether pharmacological castration will influence the volatile chemical profile, potentially modifying the olfactory communication during the rutting season. We used radioimmunoassay technique to determine faecal and plasma testosterone as well as faecal cortisol levels, and solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyse the scent-gland odour secretions. We found that deer testosterone levels decreased after the subcutaneous deposition of the implant. However, castrated red deer exhibited more variability in testosterone concentrations throughout the study period compared to fallow deer, whose testosterone levels remained low after the implant. We detected a total of 124 (red deer) and 88 (fallow deer) volatile compounds in male scent-gland odour secretions, including naturally occurring ketones, alcohols, aldehydes, terpenes, carboxylic acids, esters, volatile fatty acids, and hydrocarbons. Odour richness, but not total abundance or ratios of compounds, changed with testosterone levels in red deer. In conclusion, our preliminary findings suggest that deslorelin acetate, causing a decrease of testosterone level and impacting the chemical profile of odour secretions, could work as a non-invasive contraception approach in human-managed populations of deer.

BackgroundThe density of Ixodes ricinus nymphs infected with Anaplasma phagocytophilum is one of the parameters that determines the risk for humans and domesticated animals to contract anaplasmosis. For this, I. ricinus larvae need to take a bloodmeal from free-ranging ungulates, which are competent hosts for A. phagocytophilum.MethodsHere, we compared the contribution of four free-ranging ungulate species, red deer (Cervus elaphus), fallow deer (Dama dama), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and wild boar (Sus scrofa), to A. phagocytophilum infections in nymphs. We used a combination of camera and live trapping to quantify the relative availability of vertebrate hosts to questing ticks in 19 Dutch forest sites. Additionally, we collected questing I. ricinus nymphs and tested these for the presence of A. phagocytophilum. Furthermore, we explored two potential mechanisms that could explain differences between species: (i) differences in larval burden, which we based on data from published studies, and (ii) differences in associations with other, non-competent hosts.ResultsPrincipal component analysis indicated that the density of A. phagocytophilum-infected nymphs (DIN) was higher in forest sites with high availability of red and fallow deer, and to a lesser degree roe deer. Initial results suggest that these differences are not a result of differences in larval burden, but rather differences in associations with other species or other ecological factors.ConclusionsThese results indicate that the risk for contracting anaplasmosis in The Netherlands is likely highest in the few areas where red and fallow deer are present. Future studies are needed to explore the mechanisms behind this association.Graphical abstract

Following the compilation of lists of the deer populations in the Forestry Commission's areas in England and Wales in I938 and again in 1948 (Taylor, 1939, I948), a number of requests have been made for similar information concerning the State afforestations in Scotland. Accordingly, a survey has this year (I 949) been made by the Commission's Foresters locally in charge of the forests referred to in the appended list with the co-operation of Sir Henry Beresford-Peirse, the Commissioners' Director for Scotland, and the Conservators of Forests and Forest Officers concerned. I am indebted to the technical staff of all grades in Scotland, without whose willing help and interest the list now available could not have been prepared. While in no way intended to represent a record of the present distribution of the various species of deer to be found running wild in Scotland, the list gives an indication of the widespread areas over which the native red and roe deer occur, and of localities in which fallow deer and the exotic Japanese species are present. The small number of State forests to the south of the Highland Line in which no deer have been observed are omitted from the list. As would be expected the usual habitat of the red deer (Cervus elaphus) lies over the extensive mountain and moorland areas of the north and west where the species is often to be found in large numbers. Extensive herds of red deer are also present in parts of Aberdeenshire and in central Scotland, and again in one or two stations in the south, but in reading the survey in regard to red deer it must be borne in mind that the boundaries of some of the Commission's Highland and other forests in Scotland are deerfenced, and, although red deer may not be numerous within these fences, they frequently occur in large congregations over the open terrain round about. Deer fencing (61 ft.) has proved a satisfactory although, as might be expected, not a complete deterrent. It is, of course, impossible to tolerate red deer in any but the smallest of numbers on newly afforested ground, and among young growing plantations. If the industralized areas are excepted, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) can be regarded almost as ubiquitous throughout the mainland of Scotland. The degree of stocking varies widely with local circumstances but, where covert exists, their numbers are frequently considerable. Roe deer populations tend to increase in almost all localities where extensive afforestations are carried out and, in excesssive numbers, roe can also -be very destructive to young plantations, both by browsing and by the use of young saplings as fraying stocks by the bucks in due season. In these circumstances it is obligatory to take measures to regulate local stockings, but it is safe to say that, given adequate covert in sufficient area, the extermination of this graceful little native deer is, in practice, a matter of impossibility if only on the ground of expense, and consequently it is nowhere attempted. Except where red deer are also present in the neighbourhood it is not the custom of the Commission to deer-fence their forests, consequently the roe have easy access to many areas, a fact that not infrequently leads to difficulties sooner or later because the roe is a rapid breeder, twin births being not at all uncommon. So far as the Forestry Commission's Scottish areas are concerned the only acclimatized species is the Japanese deer (Sika nippon). This deer occurs as far north as Loch Shin and, in small numbers, at two stations in Ross and Cromarty and two in Invernessshire; it also occurs in somewhat greater numbers in the Mull of Kintyre and again 'occasionally' on the borders of Fife and Clackmannanshire. Fallow deer (Dama dama) are present at several widely distributed stations but, with the exception of the Drummond Hill district of Perthshire, are nowhere reported to be strong in numbers. None of the further species which have become acclimatized in parts of England such as the Siberian roe (Capreolus pygargus) and the Chinese muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) have been observed in or about the State forests in Scotland and no exotic species are reported other than Japanese deer (Sika nippon).

The wild population of fallow deer in Central Europe has grown considerably over the last decade. However, information on feeding habits of this alien species in relation to the indigenous red deer or roe deer, in areas of their co-occurrence, is scarce. A prevailing view maintains that their food-niches are distinct, although direct comparative studies have not been carried out. Therefore, the aim of the research was to compare the diets of fallow, red, and roe deer feeding in the same habitat. Research was based on the rumen contents of 242 animals hunted in the autumn-winter season in the forests of Southern Poland. The analyses demonstrated that fallow deer are moderate grazers in such conditions and eat more graminoids in comparison to red or roe deer (36.4% vs. 16.1% or 5.5%, respectively). On the other hand, it feeds on less browse (17.2% vs. 41.4%) or dwarf shrubs (8.4% vs. 19.0%) than red deer, and on less bramble (10.9% vs. 34.6%) or forbs (4.0% vs. 7.6%) in comparison to roe deer (P=0.05). Although the diets of the three deer species differ in terms of the proportion of each food type in their diet, overlapping of their food-niches is high (52.6%).